Sho close as badminton's Lin survives scare

Olympic badminton champion Lin Dan suffered a scare before reaching the men's singles semi-finals with a testing three-game win over Japan's Sho Sasaki on Thursday.

Lin, regarded by many as the greatest player ever, saw his last-game lead cut from seven points to one at 15-14, before squeezing past the sixth seed 21-12, 16-21, 21-16.

It was a pleasing return to action after Wednesday's scandal, when eight women's doubles players were disqualified for trying to lose group games in a bid to secure easier quarter-finals.

Lin will play Lee Hyun-Il in Friday's semis after the South Korean downed China's former world champion Chen Jin. Malaysian top seed Lee Chong Wei beat India's Kashyap Parupalli to set up a clash with China's Chen Long.

Lin and Sho's contest lasted 75 minutes in hot and humid conditions at Wembley Arena, and 43 shuttles were used in the many long, demanding rallies.

Lin had to dig deep into his reserves of physical and mental resilience, and use much of his wide repertoire of tactics and stroke-making to shake off a tenacious opponent who got the crowd on his side.

Asked what he was thinking when his lead had almost gone, Lin said: "I didn't think too much. All I could think of is to get the last few points. Results are often not what you expect anyway."

It was an unusual contest of two left-handers, with ebbs and flows and an underdog whose skills flourished spectacularly as he got a famous opponent in trouble.

There were also some madcap moments, including when Lin tried to ditch a racket with a broken string in the middle of a rally and pick up another one in time to return the next shot.

He failed, but the crowd loved it, and the crazy incident expressed something of Lin's maverick spirit: unorthodox and lively, but also carefully disciplined.

Sasaki played brilliantly in the final phase, but Lin found different ways to seize important points -- with mid-court jabs, tight net shots or sudden kills, and at the end by expending more and more energy with airborne attacks.

"It didn't surprise me what happened," Lin said. "This is the phase of the tournament where competition really happens."

He added that he was fuelled by the memories of his world title win in the same arena a year ago, when he saved two match points to beat Malaysia's Lee in one of badminton's most memorable matches.

"That is a wonderful memory," he said.

Meanwhile Lee's comeback from serious injury took another step forward when he beat India's Commonwealth bronze medallist Parupalli 21-19, 21-11, in only his third match since hurting his ankle in May.

Lee was 8-12 and 18-19 down in the first game, but moved the shuttle around well. He also covered the court quite well too, despite claiming he has not completely recovered full fitness.

"I didn't think I would lose that game," Lee said. "My nerve held better, particularly at 18-18, and I felt more confident than before.

"I didn't want to slow the game down, because that was tactically wrong, and I didn't want to move fast because Kashyap, who has improved a lot, is faster.

"I tried to keep pace with him, and work on a few things, and then looked to control the game." By the time he was 13-6 up in the second game he had succeeded in that.

Lee now plays Chen Long, the third-seeded, who ended the campaign of Denmark's soon-to-retire Peter Gade, the former world number one who has been among badminton's elite for a decade-and-a-half.

The 35-year-old has had a difficult preparation for the Games, and although he played a patient and determined match always looked a little below par and lost 21-16, 21-13.

"I am not too disappointed. It was good to have been a part of this," Gade said.

However China is not yet certain of a finalist, as the fourth-seeded former world champion Chen Jin was beaten 21-15, 21-16 by South Korea's Lee, the seventh seed.

Earlier China got three players into the semi-finals of the women's singles in Wang Yihan, the top-seeded world champion, former world number one Wang Xin and Li Xuerui, the All-England Open champion.

Wang Xin plays Li, while Wang Yihan will face Saina Nehwal, the first Indian player ever to reach an Olympic badminton semi-final. Nehwal won 21-15, 22-20 against Tine Baun, the former world number one from Denmark.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sho-close-badmintons-lin-survives-scare-205604253.html

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