CHINA TOPIX

12/23/2024 05:25:41 am

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Badminton News: Lin Dan of China Defeats Compatriot Xue Song to Reach All England Finals

Lin Dan

(Photo : gettyimages.com) Lin Dan will play against Tian Houwei of China in the final on Sunday.

Badminton World Federation current No. 4 Lin Dan of China fought back to overcome unseeded compatriot Xue Song 18-21, 21-15, 21-9 to advance to the final round of the All England Badminton Championships on Saturday.

Lin, a five-time champion of the tournament, battled his way through his semifinals showdown with the 30th ranked in the world beating the third-seeded Dane Jan O Jergensen last Friday and rallied past Xue following a first set loss.

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"In the last few matches I have made mistakes but I was really pleased how I came back," said the two-time Olympic gold medalist Lin, who is eyeing his sixth All-England title. "My winter training has really improved things and it has given me plenty of physical reserves."

In the decider, the 22-year-old Xue was forced to stop due to cramps, before Lin wrapped up the victory after one hour and 28 minutes.

"Mentally I was a little bit soft today," said Xue, who defeated the world No. 6 Victor Axelsen in the quarterfinals.

The tournament's fifth-seeded Lin will play against Tian Houwei of China, who defeated Kristian Vittinghus, in the final on Sunday.

While in the women's semifinal, seventh seed and current world No. 5 Chinese Wang Shixian, the 2014 winner, outlasted the 9th best female badminton player in the world Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 21-23, 21-12, 21-15.

She will fight for the title against the eighth-seeded and No. 8 in the world Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, who has beaten the world champion and top seed Carolina Marin of Spain.

Wang, 26, is a former world No. 1 and a bronze medalist in the 2010 World Championships held in Paris, France. She won the women's single title at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

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