The much-awaited Olympic encounter of China's Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the semifinal round of the ongoing badminton tournament at the 2016 Rio Games will take place on Friday after the two superstars both defeated their respective quarterfinal opponents on Wednesday.

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The two-time Olympic men's singles champion Lin survived the gutsy challenge presented by the 23-year-old Srikanth Kidambi of India with a hard-fought 21-6, 11-21, 21-18 victory. The Chinese badminton superstar secured his semifinal ticket after finishing the match in one hour and four minutes to remain on track for his third consecutive gold medal.

"It's too easy to win the first game, but I fell far behind in the second at the beginning, but the third one meant a psychological test to players," Lin said. "Both of us worked hard in the past four years for this, which can prove that we are in good competitive condition at least. I' ll try my best in the next match."

Meanwhile, Lee easily ousted Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei with a straight set 21-9, 21-15 triumph in only 41 minutes, according to Xinhua.

The highly-decorated Malaysian male shuttler is seeking to win his maiden Olympic badminton title and to cement his legacy of giving his country by very first gold medal of the prestigious quadrennial sporting event.

"The pressure must decrease as my teammates were playing good after the long-time hard-working preparation, I felt happy for them. But I have my own objective and no matter what the result will be, I will try my best and enjoy my fourth and last Olympic Games," Lee said.

In the other match of the day, China's Chen Long advanced to the semifinals after beating Son Wan Ho of South Korea 21-11, 18-21, 21-11 to book a final four showdown against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.

TagsLin Dan, Chen Long, Lee Chong Wei, bwf, bwf rankings, 2016 Rio Olympics, victor axelsen