Olympics: China's Lin wins badminton crown

Monday, 18 August 2008

BEIJING - China's world number one Lin Dan clinched gold in the Olympic badminton Sunday, outclassing Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei and avenging his first round loss in Athens four years ago.

World champion Lin produced a silky smooth performance that left second seed Lee hopelessly outgunned, winning 21-12, 21-8 and sparking wild celebrations from the packed Chinese crowd.

Lin, a superstar in China where badminton is a passion, collapsed on the ground before saluting to the crowd with a Chinese flag wrapped around his shoulders. A soldier in the People's Liberation Army, Lin raced over to the crowd where he was grabbed and hugged.

With girlfriend and world number one shuttler Xie Xingfang, who lost her gold medal match the day before, watching from the stands, Lin oozed confidence and skill throughout the match.

The loss was heartbreak for the mild-mannered Lee and for Malaysia which had been counting on their champion to deliver the country's first ever Olympic gold in any sport.

But with the weight of a nation of his shoulders, Lee made a series of mostly errors in the first game as Lin, with a packed Chinese crowd screaming their support, produced brilliant badminton.

Lee clawed his way back in the first, but Lin held his nerve, aggressively attacking the net to wrap up the first game.

Lin, the back to back world champion, raced to a 7-0 lead before Lee started to chip away as Lin, sensing victory, made several mistakes.

But the Chinese star, who has been the world number one for most of the last four years, then steadied and stormed to victory.

China's Chen Jin won bronze after he defeated South Korea's champion Lee Hyunil in the play-off.