|
BIRMINGHAM, England, March 16-- China's Lin Dan defeated Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei in their 40th encounter to reach the semifinals of the All England Open badminton championships here on Friday. Lin, 34, a twice Olympic champion and six-time All England champion, took 51 minutes to take his 28th win against the 35-year-old Lee, a three-time Olympic silver medalist who lifted the trophy here four times. The match was as intense as expected and Lin, who trailed 4-0 in the first game, beat Lee 21-16 21-17. "After the match we congratulated one another because we both played quite well, but neither quite at our best today," Lin said after the match. "Everytime I meet him, I always want to play my best because he is the one of the most respected players in the world for me," Lin said of the long-time rival, whom he met for the first time in 2005. Lee, the defending champion, said, "I tried my best to beat Lin Dan but he played too many shots which I didn't expect him to play but I tried my best in every shot. He was very precise and made no mistakes." It was the fourth time Lee lost to Lin in their five encounters at the All England Open, but Lee promised to come back next year. "I need to keep my head up and look forward to the other tournaments ahead of me. I will go home now and prepare for another challenge at the Commonwealth Games. I am sorry to make you disappointed but I am sure that I will come back next year." | 
