* I want to win Malaysian Open badly
* I will think of Rio Olympics if Chong Wei is going
* Chen Long hails Chong Wei as “prince badminton”
* ”Lin Dan did not win…I threw away myself,’ Jorgensen
Lin Dan was in the mood to take several questions on his badminton career after he marched into Sunday’s final of the Maybank Malaysia Open.
The final tomorrow will be an all-China after affair against compatriot Chen Long after the duo won their semi-final encounters in thrilling fashion at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
Top seed and world champion Chen Long was the first to book his place in the final when he defeated compatriot Wang Zhengming 21-18, 21-16 in 36 minutes. However Lin Dan had a much tougher time against World No 2 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark and toiled for 79 minutes before subduing the Dane 14-21, 21-19, 21-17.
“I want to win the Malaysia Open badly. It’s the one title that I want for many reasons. I will not be competing in the Singapore Open. So I am fully focused on winning my first ever Malaysia Open and you can expect the best from me,” said Lin Dan at a post match press conference.
To a question on the Olympics, Lin Dan’s reply had everyone laughing when he said: “I have two Olympic gold medals, so as for winning the third will depend very much on Chong Wei. If he goes (to the Olympics), then I will go and we will both try to win the gold medal and become the oldest players to win the Olympic title.”
“I am not thinking of the Olympics yet.”
In the meantime, Chen Long admitted that the absence of Chong Wei took some glitter from this year’s Maybank Malaysia Open.
“His absence also put pressure on the other Malaysian players who were expected to keep the Malaysian flag flying. In the past Chong Wei was always there – in the forefront to keep the challenge. Without him as the guiding light and inspiration the rest of the Malaysians just crumbled.
“Chong Wei is the ‘Prince of Badminton’ and you can feel his aura’ is missing in this year’s Malaysia Open. Hopefully he will be back to bring the shine back in the badminton world,” said Chen Long after his win over Zhengming.
MEN’S SINGLES
Chen Long (Chn) beat Wang Zhengming (Chn) 21-18, 21-16
Lin Dan (Chn) beat Jan O Jorgensen (Den) 14-21, 21-19, 21-17
