Chen Long proves himself true successor of Lin Dan in 2012 London Olympics – Badminton Feature
Right at the moment when Malaysia is desperately waiting for an eligible successor of Lee Chong Wei, the power house of badminton China is at ease as its young campaigner Chen Long has showed strong character in London Olympics to prove himself a true replacement
of the maestro Lin Dan.
The 23-year-old shuttler, who was appearing in the mega event for very first time, served notice of his talent and potential by claiming a bronze medal. He smacked down the legends like Peter Hoeg Gade and Lee Hyun Il to register his presence in the arena.
Men’s Singles expert Chen Long, who currently holds third spot in world rankings, was clubbed in Group E with Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand. He surpassed the low ranked Thai shuttler by registering 21-12 and 21-17 score without any trouble and powered his
way to pre quarter-finals where he was scheduled to meet the Hong Kong player Wong Wing Ki.
The Chinese campaigner ruled the court in his opening encounter of elimination round and registered a straight-set victory with score board flashing 21-17 and 21-17 margin in his favour.
This splendid win took him into round of eight where he faced first tough contender Peter Gade who was desperately looking to make best out of his last Olympic outing. However, Chen Long turned his plan into dust by prevailing in both parts of the tussle.
He kept the Dane under his influence throughout this battle and alarmed all other contestants with his tactical and technical command over the game. He laid foundation of his supremacy by clinching first match point with 21-16 and then magnified the impact
by putting an overwhelming figure of 21-13 in second set of the match.
With this development, he setup a semi-final clash with top seeded shuttler Lee Chong Wei who was swinging arms after an eight-week break due to injury. This showdown was expected to be a nerve-racking contest as ill-fated Malaysian was looking to ensure
his presence in grand finale while the spirited Chen Long was striving to setup all-China final.
However, this battle turned into one sided affair as the Chinese player was no comparison to his rival’s brilliance and experience. He made every effort to get into right momentum but the Olympic silver-medallist Chong Wei put his expedition to halt with
21-13 margin in first set.
The following game was replay of first one as the Malaysian badminton king stamped his supremacy over spirited but inexperienced challenger by piling up a final figure of 21-14.
Chen Long, who was placed at third spot in tournament ranking, did not lose heart after this setback and made amends by thrashing Lee Hyun Il in a hard fought bronze medal match.
He secured a berth on victory stand by unseating the seasoned competitor with 2-1 match score. He looked in prime touch throughout this crucial tussle and wrapped the show with a staggering knock of 21-12, 15-21 and 21-15.
This commendable performance from a young shuttler like Chen Long clearly shows that there is no danger to China’s supremacy even if Olympic and World Champion Lin Dan bids farewell to the arena.
As a complete lot of badminton legends is going to call it a day in near future, Chen Long will not have any noteworthy competitor in next edition of Olympics and he surely will transform his bronze medal into gold in 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
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