A step closer to gold

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ANXIOUS WAIT: A large crowd at the Kuching Festival are seen watching the live telecast semi final match aired at the venue courtesy of Astro and it was all smiles on their faces after their badminton hero, Datuk Lee Chong Wei qualified for the final after defeating Chen Long of China 21 – 13, 21 – 14. — Photo by Joana Yap

KUCHING: Malaysia’s hope for its first ever Olympic gold medal is within reach after Datuk Lee Chong Wei breezed through to the final of the men’s event with a straight sets win over China’s Chen Long in last night’s semi-final.

Chong Wei is a step closer to winning the nation’s first gold after winning the highly anticipated semi-final 21 – 13 and 21 – 14 in less than 30 minutes of play.

Chong Wei, who has played against Chen 10 times was holding a 6 – 4 advantage against the much younger opponent and kept his cool throughout the first set and at one time was leading 10 – 4 after Chen Long struggled with his usual smashing game.

Chong Wei who took 44 minutes to beat India’s Kashyap Parupali in the quarter-finals, took less than 15 minutes to wrap the first set against the struggling Chen Long.

Earlier on, Chen Long who is just one rung below the Malaysian shuttler was tipped to give him a good run for the money but failed to up his game after Chong Wei won points after points through his signature baseline cross court smashes.

Chen Long’s route to the semi final include the defeat of Denmark’s top shuttler, Peter Gade who bowed 21 – 16, 21 – 13 during the quarter-final.

The second set was on even keel when both players kept trading serves but Chen Long’s net play failed him on many occasions and giving Chong Wei every reason to smile as he consistently commanded a comfortable three point-lead.

A cautious Chong Wei started to play on a slower pace after Chen Long started to push for long rallies and that managed to earn him the much needed points to trail behind but could not overtake when the score stood at 16 – 13 before the breather.

It was smooth sailing for Chong Wei from that moment onwards and slowly gaining point by point with three straight points won after Chen Long shots found the net with the score stood at 19 – 13 in favour of the Malaysian shuttler.

Victory was in sight for Chong Wei after Chen Long failed to move on after winning only a point after that with the handful Malaysian supporters at the stadium were already restless with the pros pect of seeing their badminton hero stepping into the final.

Displaying his usual nerves of steel, Chong Wei kept the pressure on to Chen Long whose drop shots went wide to give his worthy opponent his second chance of winning Malaysia’s first ever Olympic gold.

With Chong Wei in the final, Malaysia is already assured of a silver medal and another bronze medal from the men’s double after world number eight pair, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong booked a semi final slot after beating Isara Bodin/ Jongit Maneepong of Thailand on Wednesday.

Chong Wei will meet Lin Dan in the explosive final while Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong will meet world number two pair, Cai Yun/ Fu Haifeng of China in today’s semi-final.

Local badminton enthusiasts are keeping their fingers crossed for Chong Wei to deliver their dream gold and many are seen glued to the television during the live telecast of the much awaited match.