China's Chen Long defeated the world's no. 1 shuttler Lee Chong Wei on Saturday to win the gold medal in the men's single badminton event at the Rio Olympics.

Long defeated Lee in straight sets 21-18 21-18. Lee was defeated by China's badminton great Lin Dan at the Beijing and London Olympic finals and had to settle for a silver medal.

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An overwhelmed Chen Long fell to his knees and then lay belly-down on the court after winning the championship point. Long then tossed his racket and shirt into a section of roaring Chinese fans at Rio center.

"The men's doubles gold medal yesterday was China badminton's first in Rio. It gave me a lot of motivation and confidence and my result today has everything to do with my team-mates' performance yesterday," Long said after the match.

Meanwhile, Lin Dan fell to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 15-21, 21-10, 21-17 in the bronze medal play-off match. Lin had to settle for the Bronze playoff match after he was defeated by Lee Chong in the semi-finals. This was Lee's first victory against his Lin in a major tournament.

After losing the finals on Sunday, the 33-year-old Lee's chances of winning an Olympic gold medal look very bleak. The Malaysian badminton great is likely to retire before the Tokyo Olympic 2020. Lee is widely considered one of the most dominant players in the history of the game, but without an Olympic gold medal to his name.

TagsChen Long, Lee Chong Wei, Rio Olympics 2016, China Rio Olympics