Lin Dan claims second Malaysia Open title
KUALA LUMPUR: Lin Dan clinched his second title in the Malaysia Open as he came back from a set down to beat compatriot Chen Long at the Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur Sports City (KLSC) yesterday.
The two-time Olympic champion lost the first set 9-21 but bounced back to win in 2117, 21-11.
This is his first major title in two years. Lin Dan’s last major title was also the Malaysia Open back in 2017 when he beat Malaysian badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei 21-19,21-14.
Chong Wei who is also Lin Dan’s old arc rival and sporting buddy, was given the honour to give away the prizes to the winner. With the victory Lin Dan bagged the prize money of US$ 49,000.
“This victory is very meaningful to me because it proves that my own training sessions give good outcomes. Any tournaments played in Malaysia is always very tricky. This win is for my fan club, who always inspired me to make a comeback after two years without winning any major titles.
“It is an honour for me to receive the prize from Chong Wei. Me myself has never been given such opportunity to give away prizes to the winnesr,” he told reporters after match.
Lin Dan also acknowledged that there would be fierce competition among seniors and rising stars in the men’s singles department in the Olympic qualifying campaign.
Meanwhile, world number one, Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan clinched the women’s singles title after defeating , Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-16, 21-19 in 40 minutes.
China also dominated another three events , with the world number one mixed doubles pair Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong defeating compatriots Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping in straight sets of 21-17, 21-13 in 38 minutes.
While in the women doubles final, Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan easily downed Du Yue-Li Yinhui 21-14, 21-15 in 37 minutes followed by second seeded men’s doubles pair Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen winning against third seeds Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda of Japan in 21-12, 21-17. - Bernama