Chen beats Lee to retain world crown
JAKARTA: Top seed Chen Long retained his crown at the badminton world championships in Jakarta yesterday, depriving Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei of a gold medal in the men’s singles for a fourth successive time.
Women’s top-ranked Carolina Marin also defended her women’s singles title with a two-game victory over Indian second seed Saina Nehwal in the final.
Lee entered the final hungrier than ever for his elusive world crown but could not unsettle the Chinese world No.1, who stormed to a 21-14, 21-17 victory in just over an hour.
Chen, who has already won four titles in a stellar season this year, wept and kissed the court as his final triumphant smash sailed home.
His win spelt agony for Lee, who had to settle for his fourth consecutive silver medal.
Barely anything separated the kings of the sport as they sparred at electrifying speed in the first set.
But at 12-all Chen turned up the heat with a series of blistering smashes that left Lee trailing.
After being steamrollered 21-14 the Malaysian put up a brief fight early in the second. But Chen refused to yield, taking seven unanswered points and establishing a comfortable lead.
The speed and accuracy which Lee utilised with deadly effect against lesser opponents in this tournament failed to have an impact until later in the second game, when the gap between the two narrowed to 17-15.
But in the end Chen was unstoppable, sending a smash directly at Lee’s feet to seal the deal.
Lee entered the competition unseeded for the first time in years after returning from an eight-month doping ban. His comeback had pundits tipping he would take gold in Jakarta.
But yesterday’s match may have been his last shot at victory, with the 32-year-old shuttler having hinted at retirement.
In the women’s singles final, the 22-yearold Marin never really looked in trouble as she charged to a 21-16, 21-19 win over her Indian opponent and took home her second successive gold medal.
Marin was brimming with confidence in the first game, pumping her fist and screaming in triumph as she extended a comfortable 21-16 lead over Nehwal.
But the Indian shuttler wasn’t intimidated, retaliating early in the second game to take an 11-8 lead before Marin responded with seven unanswered points to put Nehwal back on the defensive.
The pair were neck and neck at 18-18 but the European champion proved too strong for Nehwal, the first Indian to ever make a world championship final.
The Spaniard burst into tears and collapsed on the court as Nehwal’s final shot sailed out, delivering Marin the title she wasn’t sure she would ever defend.
She missed the world championships entirely after suffering a foot injury just a month ago and refused to speculate about her chances of retaining her crown.
But the unsteadiness evident in her opening round matches gave way to sensational form later in the tournament.