World top men's singles shuttler Lin Dan has eliminated fellow
Chinese Chen Jin to set up a repeat final against Lee Chong Wei in
the Malaysian Open badminton championships.
Top seed Lin Dan, playing his first international tournament
since the Thomas Cup victory over Denmark in May, showed he was in
fiery form as he tore apart senior teammate Chen Jin 21-15, 21-11
in the semis.
Home favorite Lee Chong Wei came back from being down in the
first game to knock out South Korean Lee Hyun-il 15-21, 21-12, 21-6
in the other match-up.
Both Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei had met at last year's Malaysian
Open, with Lee coming out victorious.
In the women's singles semifinals, top seed Zhang Ning of China
smashed Wang Chen 21-16, 21-11 to set up a final clash with
England's Tracey Hallam, who beat China's Xie Xingfang 6-21, 24-22
and 21-18 in the semis.
China has booked the women's doubles title as Gao Ling/Huang Sui
and Du Jing/Yu Yang each defeated their rivals to enter an
all-Chinese final.
Meanwhile, China's Olympic champion Zhang Jun/Gao Ling advanced
into the mixed doubles final with a 2-1 victory, while the men's
double's players, Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun, were stopped at the
semifinals after losing to their Malaysian opponents 21-17,
23-21.
(CRI June 19, 2006)