Badminton

World Championships: Lee Chong Wei suffers final heartbreak

Chen Long has retained his World Championship title after sealing a comfortable straight sets win over Lee Chong Wei in Jakarta.

The match was a repeat of last year’s final, and Chen Long ensured that the result was replicated as well, running rampant to clinch a 21-14, 21-17 win.

Despite cruising past Jan O Jorgensen in the semis, Chong Wei endured a difficult start in the final, as Chen Long raced to an early lead in the first set. But Chong eventually caught up, with the score being 10-11 in favour of Chen Long, at one point.

The Chinese shuttler used his slender advantage to rally forward and seize a 21-14 win. In the second set, the world number one replicated the exact same start, racing to an early 7-1 lead, which allowed him to control the tempo of the match.

Chong Wei pushed hard with different approaches, pushing Chen to all ends of the court, but the Chinese star held on to eventually win it 21-17.

This defeat marks Chong We’s ninth failed attempt at winning the World Championships and it now appears that the Rio Olympics will be his final chance to seek redemption for this loss.

 

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