Lin, Lee cruise, but Hidayat loses

Two chinese will face off in the women's final

GUANGZHOU - Lin Dan joined world No 1 and archrival Lee Chong Wei in the men's semifinals of the Asian Games badminton tournament on Friday, but two-time reigning champion Taukif Hidayat crashed out.

The women's final on Saturday will be an all-Chinese affair after Wang Xin and Wang Shixian enjoyed easy passages, ensuring a sizeable Chinese contingent as the badminton action reaches its climax.

The 27-year-old Lin, widely regarded as the best player ever, set up a meeting with Hidayat's conqueror, Park Sung-hwan of the Republic of Korea, in the last four after the Chinese demolished Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh 21-9, 21-16.

The Asian Games gold is the one major title eluding Lin in his illustrious career.

Park, the world No 11, has previously enjoyed notable success over "Super Dan", beating him at the world championships in Paris in August, though Lin defeated Park over three games at the men's team final here.

The Korean proved once more that he was capable of an upset as he battled past Indonesian ace Hidayat, the gold medal winner in 2002 and 2006.

Park took an early lead against an out-of-sorts Hidayat, the world No 3, and never looked back, winning their last-eight clash 21-15, 21-16.

Park collapsed on the court in victory, banging his fists on the floor. Hidayat looked numb.

"I don't feel anything right now," said Hidayat.

"I didn't feel very good today and I played badly. I don't want to give any excuses for why I lost. I just lost," said the talented but temperamental former Olympic champion.

Lee was down early against Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana, who beat the Malaysian star in the men's team event on Saturday, trailing 6-2.

But the 28-year-old battled back to lead 10-8 and then pulled away to win the opener 21-13 and the second game 21-17.

Lee, who has complained of back and ankle injuries in the lead-up to the games, said he was his "own worst enemy".

"It's there when I come out on the court," he said of the niggling injuries. "But when I'm out on court I forget about it and it's not a big thing.

"This event is only every four years and I'm not sure whether I will be around for the next one," Lee said, underlining his motivation to win gold in Guangzhou.

He will face China's Chen Jin in Saturday's semis after the world title holder overcame a hesitant start to beat Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen, ranked 66.

Chen, who has long lived in the shadow of Lin, was behind in the first game before pulling level at 13-13 and 16-16 as he slowly began to find his range, taking the match 21-19, 21-14.

The women's semis was more predictable.

Hong Kong's Yip Pui Yin was back on court barely 12 hours after she shocked India's golden girl and world No 3 Saina Nehwal late Thursday in three games, and it showed as she got off to a sluggish start against Wang Shixian.

Yip was rejuvenated for a while in the second game, but the result was never in doubt, Wang won 21-14, 21-14 to book her place in the final.

"I played an exciting match last night and I didn't get a good rest," said Yip. "This affected my stamina for the match today."

World No 1 Wang Xin had a similarly easy time against No 11 Eriko Hirose, thrashing the Japanese 21-7, 21-15 at a sold-out Tianhe Gymnasium.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 11/20/2010)