Kuala Lumpur: Two time Olympic gold medalist Lin Dan will square off compatriot world no. 1 Chen Long in the men’s singles final of the Malaysian Open on Sunday after both Chinese shuttlers battled past their opponents at the semi-finals on Saturday.
Lin Dan, who has yet to win the Malaysia Open, triumphed 14-21, 21-19, 21-17 in 79 minutes but was given a scare by Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in the semi-final match. Lin was unhappy with the umpire after the match.
“I felt the first game was not between us, rather it was between me and the umpire who kept interrupting our rhythm, I was totally in no mood to play in the first game,” said Lin Dan.
“The second game was also hard as Jorgensen had the crowd behind him and I was fortunate enough to pull through.”
Meanwhile, the reigning world champion Chen Long advanced to the men’s singles final after a dominant performance over another Chinese player Wang Zhengming with 21-18, 21-16.
“I am very familiar with Wang’s game, I was more comfortable playing him as compared to playing other shuttlers, where I always prepared to go the extra mile to ensure victory,” said Chen.
“The men’s singles final will be a tough one, I just wanted to get some rest now and think about the final later,” added Chen.
Indonesian pair Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan displayed a remarkable performance to march into the men’s doubles final. They are set to meet world No. 1 South Korean men’s doubles pair Lee Yong-Dae and Yoo Yeon-Seong in the final on Sunday.
In the mixed doubles, top seeds Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei of China will face compatriots Xu Chen/Ma Jin in an all Chinese final.
