Birmingham: Lin Dan gave a double fist pump and primal scream. Then he yelled again. That’s how much beating Jan O Jorgensen in the All England Championships quarterfinals meant to the badminton superstar on Friday.
Humbled by Jorgensen in the quarters of the world championships last August, Lin was up for their first meeting since then, and showed his enduring class by winning 10-21, 21-9, 21-15 in 67 minutes.
Meanwhile, women’s defending champion Carolina Marin of Spain lost to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-11, 16-21, 14-21 while Saina Nehwal, Li Xuerui of China also lost their respective matches.
Saina lost to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 15-21, 16-21 in the quarterfinals.
Jorgensen ran over Lin so easily in the first game that a repeat of their worlds result was on the cards. But Lin suddenly tuned in, ending rallies quickly with smash winners, pulling the Dane at his whim, and making play look easy.
Lin jumped to 10-1 in the second game and 8-0 in the third, leaving Jorgensen remonstrating with the referee and gradually taking on the air of a man who knew he was being outclassed. “Jan was consistent and really aggressive in the first game, and I was making a lot of mistakes,” Lin said. “I was really happy how I regrouped. My movement and instinct became much better,” the former World No.1 added.
Lin won the last of his five All England titles in 2012, then came out of semi-retirement last year to prepare for a gold-medal tilt at a third consecutive Olympics. He won the German Open last weekend, and has reached the All England semifinals for a second straight year. A different Chinese teammate stands in his way: Top-ranked Chen Long stopped Lin last year, but this time he faces Xue Song, the latest prodigy. Lin won their only tour match in mid-2014.
