World number one Lee Chong Wei and Olympic champion Lin Dan moved closer to a dream final when they reached the quarter-finals of the world badminton championships in contrasting styles Thursday. Lee was in supremely brilliant form in a 21-11, 21-5 victory over Park Sung-Hwan, the ninth-seeded Korean, getting so completely on top that eventually the Malaysian was able to run through his entire range of tactical options.
Lin however had to work hard to win 21-16, 21-13 against Lee Hyun-Il, the 12th seeded Korean, trailing for two-thirds of the first game. The Chinese player, often an explosive attacker whilst winning every major title in the game, was now obliged to dig deep in defence, and to lift and clear patiently during some lengthy rallies.
These two faced each other in the 2008 Olympic final and in this year’s All-England Open final, and two more wins for each would give the tournament the perfect climax on Sunday. “These are my seventh world championships and every time there are many more players from different countries who are difficult to beat,” commented Lin. “Today I tried my best. He was mentally very well prepared and I am glad to have won.” Lin appeared to get on top mentally during his advance from 14-14 to 20-15 in the first game, after which he moved steadily to a 11-5 lead in the second.