BEIJING, October 14 -- 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.
Volunteers for 2007 Beijing International Badminton Tournament celebrate Lin's birthday after he won men's singles gold medal on October 14, 2007. [Xinhua] |
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 capitalised 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.
