Among the many arresting experiences in badminton is to watch Lee Chong Wei at the Malaysian Open.
On Saturday, Chong Wei made his eighth final, and what made it so sweet for the Malaysians was that he whipped a Chinese in the semifinals. Chen Long is No 3 behind Lin Dan and world champion Chen Jin. But Chong Wei was quite the master on the day, toying with the Chinese.
Chong Wei will meet old friend and world No 2 Taufik Hidayat in the final, after Taufik jogged past compatriot Simon Santoso. China assured themselves of the title in the women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, and only the Danish pair Jonas Rasmussen/Mads Conrads-Petersen can prevent them from winning four out of five titles.
Most of the semifinals were one-sided affairs. All the attention was on the local favourite and whether he could withstand the challenge of Chen Long, to whom he had famously lost in the first round of the India Open in 2009 and then complained of a stomach upset.
After an early series of quick, short exchanges he was able to dominate Chen Long. Midway through the first game, Chong Wei started toying with the Chinese, using a ‘double’ shot to keep his opponent undecided. Mostly, he played to the gallery, using his sharp smash sparingly, and making Chen Long run all around the court.
