Copenhagen: With a dominant display of superb badminton, Lee Chong Wei kept up his bid for his first World Championships title by beating Wang Zhengming of China in straight sets 21-8, 21-11 on Friday to reach the semi-finals at the World Championships in Copenhagen.
The top seed overwhelmed Wang with his sensational brand of attacking badminton, brilliant movement and near flawless defense. Lee took full advantage of Wang’s unforced errors to eventually clinch the match in 39 minutes.
“I spent yesterday preparing for this game, and fortunately things went according to plan,” said Lee.
“I was trying to avoid long rallies with Wang. Now, I am looking forward to play in the semi-finals,” added Lee. The 1st seed will play Viktor Axelsen of Denmark for a place in the final. Axelsen ousted Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-14, 21-14 in other men’s singles quarter-finals match.
Earlier Friday, second seed Chen Long of China saw off South Korean seventh seed Son Wan-ho 21-14, 12-21, 21-17 in three hard-fought sets to book his place in the semi-finals.
” I decided to adjust my tactics when I was trailing 9-11 in the rubber game,” said Chen Long, whose last title came at January’s Korea Open.
“If I continued the way I played, I will probably already lose the game. But I encourage myself not to give up because I know my opponent was getting tired too.”
“I was confident I could win the match when I managed to tie the score at 14-14.”
Chen Long faces fifth seed Tommy Sugiarto in the semis after the Indonesian battled past 37th-ranked Dutchman Eric Pang 22-20, 21-19.
