Badminton: Lin Dan wins battle of titans to reach final

Third seed Lin Dan delighted home fans as he made it back-to-back victories against arch-rival and number one seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia to reach the mens singles final at the China Open on Saturday.Todays match was more important for me (than tomorrows final) as this match is potentially next years Olympic Games semi-finals or finals match, Lin said after his 19-21, 21-12, 21-11 win.It is Lins second consecutive win against Lee after he broke the Malaysians year-long Super Series winning streak last Saturday at the Hong Kong Open.He now faces second seed shuttler and teammate Chen Long, who ended Indonesian Simon Santosos dream tournament earlier in the day with a hard-fought two-game win, 21-14, 21-14.Wang Xi pulled off a dramatic 55-minute semi-final womens singles victory over younger teammate Li Xuerui 15-21, 21-18, 23-21.But she faced a tougher task than in four previous meetings with Li: the younger woman, who had never before taken a game from Wang, on Saturday came within a point of victory.Wang said, In the third game I was several points behind my opponent but I didnt want to give up so I caught up point by point.It wasnt good but I won the game so I was satisfied.Wang is now set to face another teammate, Wang Yihan, 23, in the finals. Wang Yihan will be making her first appearance in a China Open final after a nail-biting 73-minute semi-final victory over 11th-ranked Liu Xin 21-13, 19-2, 21-16.