Unfortunately my prediction didn't materialized as noted in my last post. There wasn't any fairytale ending for Malaysia. Instead China's Lin Dan won the gold medal in straight sets.
Watching at how the dragon slayed Lee Chong Wei at yesterday's badminton singles final, it goes to show that the Malaysian has yet to reach the mastery skills of Lin Dan. Just look at his attacks right from the start that saw Chong Wei sprawling all over the court. And his swift movements around the court was a sight to behold and reminded me of his predecessor Yang Yang, China's champion of the 1980's.
True that Lin Dan lost to Lee Chong Wei early this year at the Thomas Cup team event. But this time around Chong Wei seemed to be awed by the event and was was too tensed judging from his facial expression compared to the cool and confident poise of Lin Dan.
Lin Dan totally controlled the whole 39 minutes of the game, attacking relentlessly from all over the court, even in defense! And Chong Wei had no effective reply. This was evident by the frequent half-court return made by Chong Wei whenever he returned a smash by Lin Dan who swiftly moved in and killed the bird, time and time again throughout the game. Moreover Chong Wei was making all the errors, frequently hitting the shuttle wide, while Lin Dan made fewer. That was also a contributing factor in the former defeat.
Nevertheless, the consoling point was that at least Malaysia got a silver in the badminton men's singles - a first in the olympic games. Maybe the expectations were too high and gotten onto him. Nonetheless due credit must be given be given to Chong Wei for his gallant performance in this games. Perhaps the next time around he could avenge this defeat.
