China’s star shuttler and world number two Lin Dan stepped up a gear at the World Superseries Finals on Thursday, slamming 20 smash winners to beat Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat in straight games. “Super” Dan, the sport’s most decorated player, had been less convincing in his first match of the tournament, but took just 41 minutes to dispatch with Hidayat, 21-12, 21-19. It gives Dan, who is aiming to win his first-ever Superseries Finals title, two victories out of two after he beat his compatriot Chen Long in a tougher contest on Wednesday at the season finale in Liuzhou, southern China.
Earlier in the day, world number one Lee Chong Wei trounced Indonesia’s Simon Santoso 21-10, 21-15 as he stepped up his own bid for a fourth consecutive World Superseries Finals crown.
The Malaysian ace buried 15 smash winners as he sent Santoso packing in just 34 minutes , after taking three games to beat Japan’s Sho Sasaki on the opening day. China’s Chen Long battled back from a game down to beat Japan’s Tago Kenichi 12-21, 21-18, 21-13 to also make it two out of two in group play at the $500,000 event.
China’s Olympic champion Lin Dan, who is seeking the last major title to elude him, will face Indonesian star Taufik Hidayat in an eagerly awaited clash during Thursday’s evening session.
Meanwhile China’s top women’s seed Wang Yihan recovered from her shock loss to South Korea’s Sung Ji-Hyun as she scored a two-games win over Denmark’s Tine Baun. Sung beat Juliane Schenk of Germany in the other early women’s match.
The World Superseries Finals is the culmination of badminton’s annual Superseries, with the top eight in each of the singles and doubles categories playing in a round-robin system to reach the weekend semis and finals.
