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Lin Dan jumps in delight after winning the men's singles final against Lee Chong Wei. (Xinhua)
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Four years ago, he suffered an ignominious first-round exit. This time around, he swept to the title in imperious style.
China's world No 1 Lin Dan clinched the men's singles badminton title yesterday, completely outclassing Malaysia's second seed, Lee Chong Wei.
Not only did he erase his first-round loss in Athens four years ago to Singapore's Ronald Susilo, but he also made sure there will be no arguments as to who is the best male shuttler in the world.
Indeed, the world champion produced a silky-smooth performance that left Lee hopelessly outgunned, en route to winning 21-12, 21-8 and sparking wild celebrations from the packed Chinese crowd.
"The victory means so much to me, I feel extremely happy today," said the 24-year-old. "In the past four years, I had suffered lots of pressure. I hope in the future, I can play badminton for fun."
Lin, a superstar in a country where badminton is a passion, roared in victory, collapsed on the ground before saluting to the crowd with a Chinese flag wrapped around his shoulders.
Lin then raced over to the crowd where he was grabbed and hugged.
He also blew a kiss towards his girlfriend, world No 1 female shuttler Xie Xingfang, who was watching from the stands.
The loss was heartbreak for the mild-mannered Lee and for Malaysia, which had been counting on their in-form star to deliver the country's first Olympic gold in any sport. But, with the weight of a nation of his shoulders, Lee made a series of costly errors in the first game as Lin who, with a packed Chinese crowd screaming their support, produced some brilliant shots.
"I could hardly follow his fast speed and variation of rhythm," said the dejected 25-year-old.
Nevertheless, he tried to claw his way back, but Lin held his nerve, attacking aggressively to wrap up the first game.
Lin, the two-time defending world champion, raced to a 7-0 lead in the second game, before a stunned Lee started to even find his rhythm. Although the Malaysian earned a few points on mistakes from Lin, it was only a matter of time before the Chinese steadied and stormed to victory.
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(Agencies)
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四年前，他遭受了首輪出局的恥辱。而這一次，他橫掃賽場一舉奪冠。
昨日，世界排名第一的中國選手林丹大勝馬來西亞二號種子選手李宗偉，穩穩拿下羽毛球男子單打冠軍。
他不僅一掃四年前雅典奧運會上首輪即遭新加坡選手蘇西洛淘汰的陰霾，同時也向人們證明了他才是世界羽壇“一哥”。
的確，這位世界冠軍的表現無懈可擊，他以21比12、21比8的比分力克對手李宗偉，引來了全場中國觀眾忘情的歡呼祝賀。
24歲的林丹說：“這次勝利對我來說意義重大，我今天太高興了。過去的四年里，我承受了太大的壓力。希望以后能好好享受羽毛球帶來的樂趣。”
在羽毛球熱盛行的中國，林丹算得上是位超級明星。他在獲勝后大喊一聲，然后躺在地上。隨后，他起身，身披國旗，向全場觀眾行了個軍禮。
接著，他沖向觀眾，人們爭相與他握手擁抱。
他還向看臺上的女友、世界頭號羽毛球選手謝杏芳獻上了一記飛吻。
這次失敗對于性情溫和的李宗偉甚至對馬來西亞來說，無疑讓人失望扼腕。李宗偉曾是馬來西亞寄予厚望能為其贏得首枚奧運金牌的人選。可是，肩負著整個國家厚望的李宗偉卻在第一場比賽中就失誤了好幾個關鍵球，而林丹卻在全場中國觀眾的加油助威聲中好球連連。
25歲的李宗偉說：“我幾乎趕不上他的速度和節奏變化。”
就算是那樣，他還是一直很努力地想要扳回比賽，只是林丹始終勁頭十足，奮力拼殺，最終豪取了首局比賽。
曾經兩度衛冕世界冠軍的林丹，在第二輪比賽一開始就以7比0遙遙領先，而李宗偉似乎還有沒來得及跟上他的節奏。雖然后來李宗偉因為林丹的幾次失誤得了幾分，但是林丹向勝利進發卻已是勢不可擋的局面了。
（實習生吳昭文 英語點津Helen編輯） |
