Lin Dan pulls out again

Olympic champion Lin Dan pulled out of the PROTON Malaysia Open Superseries with an abdominal muscle injury, the third time in as many tournaments the three-time world No. 1 has withdrawn from a tournament.

Last month, he withdrew from the Hong Kong and China Opens. Lin Dan’s “misfortune” meant team mate Chen Long had a free ride into the semi-finals where he will meet top seed Lee Chong Wei.

Dr Khairulleena Khalid from the National Sports Institute examined the Chinese ace and certified him medically unfit to play.

“A medical certificate was submitted to us, certifying the nature of Lin Dan’s injury and the doctor's recommendation that he should seek treatment and rest in order not to aggravate the injury further,” said Jane Wheatley, the tournament’s chief referee.

Chong Wei, who is the only Malaysian left in the competition, said: “While everyone was expecting me to face Lin Dan, it won’t be easier against Chen Long.

“I know the fans will be disappointed I will not be meeting Lin Dan but there is nothing I can do. I can only face whoever has made the semis.

“Chen Long is an aggressive player and I know I won’t have it easy. I’m ready for the challenge and I hope it will be positive.”

Chong Wei reached the semis when beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh 21-15, 21-16.

The other semi-final will see former world and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat meeting Indonesian team mate Simon Santoso.

Hidayat, the second seed, eased into the last four when he defeated Japan Kenichi Tago 21-15, 21-15 while Santoso was given a scare in the first game by team mate Alamsyah Yunus before eventually winning 21-19, 21-9. 

As expected, the Chinese women dominated the women’s singles with Wang Xin, Wang Yihan, Wang Shixian and Jiang Yanjiao reaching the semi-finals

Denmark’s Mads Conrads-Petersen was blown away by the noise inside the Putra Stadium where he and partner Jonas Rasmussen received the full back of the home crowd in their quarter-final against Indonesia’s Alvent Yulianto Chandra-Hendra Aprida Gunawan.

The 23-year-old Conrads-Petersen, who is playing in Malaysia for the first time in his career, said the noise was deafening but also encouraging as the home supporters were firmly behind them in the encounter against the third seeds.

The unseeded Danes won 21-16, 21-19 and will now play Japan’s Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato in Saturday’s semi-final.

“It’s just fantastic. The noise inside the stadium was continuous and I have never experienced anything like this before,” said Conrads-Petersen, who only teamed up with Rasmussen in August.

“We had a great game today and we surprised everyone by winning in straight games. We are the underdogs in this tournament but I think we can go on and win this tournament.”

Kawamae-Sato ended Malaysia’s hopes when they defeated Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How 21-15, 21-19.

“We knew what was expected from the Malaysian pair and therefore we were prepared.

There wasn’t any fear on our part, playing against them,” said Sato.

 “Our philosophy is to clear one hurdle at a time and to give our best in each match. Now we are in the semi-finals and the target remains the same," said Sato 

courtesy of BWF

Yangyang Rg | Create your badge


The secret of badminton

BlackBerry Storm 9530 Unlocked GSM + CDMA World Phone with 3.15 Mega pixel Camera - Black - (Certified Refurbished)BlackBerry Gemini 8520 Unlocked Phone with 2 MP Camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi--International Version with No Warranty (Black)BlackBerry Curve 8900 Javelin Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, GPS Navigation, Stereo Bluetooth, and MicroSD Slot--International Version with Warranty (Black)Blackberry 9530 Storm Unlocked For Any GSM Carrier Worldwide (Manufacturer Refurbished)BlackBerry Storm 9500 Unlocked Phone with 3.15 MP Camera (Black)