Lee Chong Wei believes luck once again favoured Lin Dan in 2012 London Olympics – Badminton News
Malaysia’s badminton king Lee Chong Wei feels that luck once again was not on his side as Lin Dan unseated him to claim top position on victory stand of London Olympics at Wembley Arena on August 5, 2012.
This epic game lasted for three gruelling sets before ending with final result of 15-21, 21-10 and 21-19.
Both maestros made the viewers gasp with their breath-taking performance throughout this much-awaited showdown.
The battle heated up with World Number two Chong Wei gaining an early advantage with 11-8 total until half time in first set.
This initial lead helped him clinch a vital match point with respectable margin of 21-15 in opening game.
Next game was filled with great sensation as defending champion Lin Dan stormed back and counter-balanced the situation with a significant 21-10 win.
The decider turned into survival of the fittest as both contenders put all they had to lock the honour.
At one stage, it was felt that Malaysian campaigner will end his country’s gold medal drought as he was leading with 18-16 but then his Chinese arch-rival reeled off two points on the trot and brought the contest back in to balance.
Chong Wei believes that was the turning point when he realised that gold medal has not been written in his fate rather luck was on Lin Dan’s side.
He said, "I was leading 18-16 but when the shuttle trickled over and Lin Dan won the point, I couldn't help but feel that luck was once again favouring him."
This was the second time that he missed an Olympic gold medal as he also lost to Lin Dan in Beijing edition of the mega event.
However, Chong Wei looked satisfied with this effort as he stated that he stood tall in Wembley Arena before going down in the title match.
He said, "I didn't go into the final with any pressure as I knew that I had to fight if I wanted to win the gold and I am proud, despite losing, for staying in there till the end."
Moreover, he admitted that he was not in his prime form before starting the campaign but then two consecutive wins in quarter-finals and semi-finals boosted his confidence and he played the grand finale with full conviction.
Chong Wei also thanked his nation for all the support and hoped that his people will understand his position.
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