|
BEIJING: Bad boy Lin Dan led China to a gold bonanza in badminton,
as the hosts won three out of the five titles up for grabs, equaling
their tally in Athens four years ago.
Chinese coach Li Yongbo said he was satisfied
with the haul despite the formidable team, who dominate the world
rankings, gunning for a clean sweep but falling short in the men’s
and mixed doubles.
Lin, the star of the team and known as Super Dan
to his legion of fans, kept his notorious fiery temper in check to
clinch the men’s singles crown over Malaysian second seed Lee
Chong Wei with a superb display of power and skill.
The world No. 1 and back-to-back world champion
declared after Sunday’s win that more was to come, with no plans
for retirement.
“I have a lot more things to achieve besides
the world championships and the Olympic Games,” the 24-year-old
Lin said.
China’s veteran of the sport Zhang Ning played
through injury to defend her Athens crown against teammate and world
No. 1 Xie Xingfang, the girlfriend of Lin Dan—who are regarded in
China as the golden couple.
Zhang broke down in tears after becoming the
oldest player to win the title at 33, an achievement coach Li hailed
as a miracle.
“It is really a miracle for Zhang Ning to
retain the Olympic gold. Her entrance to the Beijing Olympic Games
was even in doubt two months ago,” Li told Chinese reporters.
“Maybe this is the beauty of the Olympiad.”
While Li, who drills his charges with military
precision, also applauded the women’s doubles pair for their gold,
he said some of his younger shuttlers had not lived up to
expectations.
Indonesia also enjoyed success, clinching the
country’s first gold at these Games, on the eve of Sunday’s
independence day, through world champions Markis Kido and Hendra
Setiawan.
The world number ones sizzled in Beijing,
demolishing all in their path including China’s second seeds in
the final, and extending Indonesia’s dominance of the men’s
doubles to three Olympics, since badminton was introduced at the
1992 Games.
Indonesia also pulled off a surprise with the
soft-spoken Maria Kristin Yulianti, ranked No. 21 in the world, took
down some of the tournament’s top seeds to clinch the bronze.
-- AFP
|
