Lee and Lin remain on collision course
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, August 8, 2013
World number one Lee Chong Wei was forced to fight for his place in the world championships yesterday in a thrilling battle with an unseeded opponent.
The Malaysian's arch rival, Chinese superstar Lin Dan, breezed through his second-round match against Dutch player Eric Pang, winning 21-14, 21-17.
Spectators in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, were left stunned as they watched Lee lose the first game of the second round 21-14 to Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia, who is ranked 26th in the world.
Rumbaka has met Lee five times and never beaten him, but he showed no sign of nerves.
Lee looked increasingly rattled as he went behind in the second game.
The pair traded smashes and body shots, but Lee recovered to take the second game 21-18 before winning the third 21-11, hitting his attacking stride in the final points.
"I couldn't find my pace, especially in the first game," Lee said.
"Today has been a reminder that I have to get more prepared for the coming matches so I can perform better," he said.
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Lin Dan of China returns a shuttlecock during men's single match against Eric Pang of the Netherlands at the 2013 BWF World Championships in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province on Aug. 7, 2013. (Xinhua/Liang Xu) |
Lee, 30, is gunning for Malaysia's first ever world title, on the back of wins this year in South Korea, Indonesia, India and Malaysia, with fans hoping for another classic clash in the final with Lin.
Olympic and world champion Lin, who has spent most of this year on the sidelines to spend time with his family, was rarely stretched by Pang yesterday, controlling the court and injecting pace when he needed.
Number two seed Chen Long, also of China, defeated Japanese veteran Sho Sasaki, winning 21-15, 21-12.
Chen is on course to meet Lin in the quarterfinals.
Top-ranked women's singles seed Li Xuerui of China, who took gold at the London Olympics, strolled to victory in her first game of the tournament, beating Ukraine's Marija Ulitina 21-9, 21-10.
China's Wang Yihan beat Indonesia's Belaetrix Manuputi 21-12, 21-8.
In women's doubles, Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang and number two seeds Ma Jing and Tang Jinhua also advanced.
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