Lin Dan won men's singles gold medal on his 24th birthday at
2007 Beijing International Badminton Tournament in Beijing on
Sunday, overpowering his teammate Bao Chunlai 21-19, 21-14.
China's Lin Dan won men's
singles gold medal on his 24th birthday at 2007 Beijing
International Badminton Tournament in Beijing on Sunday, October
14, 2007.
The cross-sword between China's top two men's singles shuttlers
was nerve-wrecking and gripping in the first set as the game was
leveled four times at 5-5. Finally Lin smashed the tie breaker and
pulled away first for a 11-8 advantage before the break.
The ferocious attacker Lin capitalized on the lead with four
consecutive points at 18-10 before Bao making a spectacular
comeback at 18-20 as the overwhelming cheers filled the gymnasium.
Lin finally snatched the winner with a powerful jumpsmash to take
the first game 21-19.
Bao was nearly pushed to the end when he trailed Lin 2-9 in the
second game, but he managed to recover with a heroic display
winning six points in a row to bridge the divide at 9-11 before the
break.
Known as 'Super Dan' to his legion of fans, the world No. 1 Lin
Dan's invincibility on court was underlined before the end of the
game as he exerted varied kills to coast to a 17-11 lead and
wrapped up the highly-charged final at 21-14 in 43 minutes.
"Today's game is just a warming-up for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. All the hard work only
has one purpose: to win Olympic gold next year," said Lin after the
match, adding he was "very, very happy to celebrate the birthday
with teammates and fans on the court."
Bao Chunlai was also satisfied with his performance. "I went all
out for the match, which I think is the best gift for the birthday
king," he said.
"I hope the men's singles final at Olympics next year could be
the same as today: between two Chinese players," he added.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Minh downed Chinese Li Yu
earlier the day in a three-game thrill 21-14, 22-24, 22-20 to claim
the men's singles bronze medal of the tournament at Beijing
University of Technology (BUT) Gymnasium.
(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2007)
