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Lin polishes off Hidayat in All England quarters

Dunya News

Lin Dan eased into the All England Open semifinals after beating Taufik Hidayat 21-18, 21-8.

Badminton great Lin Dan eased into the All England Open semifinals by dispatching former Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat 21-18, 21-8 on Friday.Hidayat, twice a runner-up in the worlds oldest badminton tournament that Lin has won four times, couldnt reproduce his form of the previous day when he ousted 2008 champ Chen Jin.Lin stayed on top of a tight first game until at 17-17 Hidayat netted twice. Another shuttle into the net by Hidayat conceded the 27-minute game, and when Lin reeled off a 9-0 lead to start the second, all tension drained from the quarterfinal.After his ninth straight win over Hidayat since losing to the Indonesian star in the 2005 world championships final, Lin believed he was close to his best form.I focused more on this match than my first two, and I think my form is improving bit by bit, Lin said.On the womens side, Li Xuerui, the next great Chinese player who moved up to a career-high No. 5 ranking on Thursday, eliminated No. 4 Saina Nehwal of India 21-13, 23-21 to reach her first All England semifinals at her second attempt. Li handled Nehwal from the start, and only Nehwals desperation at the end, when she missed a game point, forced Li to need four match points to finish her off.The youngest at age 21 of Chinas five players in the top six, Li was on a 12-match winning streak after winning the German Open last weekend.She will face another rising star in Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan, who beat the only other unseeded quarterfinalist, Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea, 20-22, 21-14, 21-14. The Chinese hold no fear for Tai, who has come on in the last nine months with wins over No. 1 Wang Yihan and No. 2 Wang Xin.
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