China's top-seeded Lin Dan defeated Vietnamese shuttler Nguyen Tien Minh in straight sets to capture the men's singles gold at 2007 Beijing International Badminton Tournament on Saturday.

 

Lin won the match 21-12, 21-15.

 

Nguyen, Vietnam's top player, opened the account of the first set with jump smashes before world No.1 Lin starting to uncork the smashes and kills to gain a big margin of ten points at 16-6 and maintained the lead to victory.

 

The second set saw Nguyen's confidence and strong will to win as he tied the score five times and gained three points ahead at 11-8 before the break.

 

However, the hard-hitting Lin with incredible speed and accurate net play finally blew Nguyen away at 21-15 as he scored the winner with a strong forehand smash in 34 minutes.

 

"He (Nguyen) is a skillful player though with less fame. I took the match seriously and hope to play him in the Beijing Olympics next year," said Lin.

 

Nguyen, 24, also showed his respect to Lin, as he described the Chinese as "a great player with varied shuttles and unexpected tactics."

 

"I enjoyed the game and felt happy though I was defeated. I gained experiences and learned a lot from Chinese players, that's why I attended the tournament," said Nguyen.

 

As the only non-Chinese player Nguyen left the court, the all-Chinese men's singles final will be held on Oct. 14 at Beijing University of Technology (BUT) Gymnasium after China's second-seeded Bao Chunlai playing his teammate Li Yu late on October 13 for a position in the final.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2007)