Familiar stars took center stage on the last day of the Badminton China Open in Shanghai. China's Lin Dan faced compatriot Chen Long in the men's singles final.

Familiar stars took center stage on the last day of the Badminton China Open in Shanghai. China's Lin Dan faced compatriot Chen Long in the men's singles final. ?

"Super Dan" had met Chen Long twice in Badminton World Federation events and Lin won both matches. Lin won two BWF World Super Series titles this season, while Chen took three Grand Prix championships. In the opening game, Chen showed he would be competitive by taking an early lead.

But Lin put together two scoring runs that helped him overtake Chen 9-4. Chen didn't have enough strength to come back and Lin sealed the first game 21-17. The players staged a more intense second game. It looked like it was over when Lin took a 19-14 lead. But Chen fought back with back to back smashes and trailed by only one point. Lin didn't waver and patiently moved closer to an overall victory. He reached match point at 20-18.

But Chen made sure Lin Dan worked hard for it. He made Lin waste up to 6 match points. But on the 7th, it was Chen blasting an overhead off the court that let Lin Dan win the game and the match. Lin prevailed 28-26 and took the men's singles title.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)