In the US$1.2mil South Korea Open in Seoul yesterday, the three-time champion displayed a late burst of power in the rubber game to win the last six points consecutively for a 21-19, 14-21, 21-16 victory to dethrone Chong Wei as the champion.
The hard work and solid netplay over one hour and 15 minutes earned Lin Dan a jackpot purse of US$90,000 (RM275,000).
It was Lin Dan’s first title since withdrawing from three Open tournaments over the last two months – in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. He had cited a back injury to conceded walkovers to his opponents in the quarter-finals.
There was sheer frustration for Chong Wei after coming so close to becoming the first Malaysian to win three titles in a month after the Super Series Masters Finals in Taipei and the preceding season-opening BWF World Super Series tournament in Malaysia.
It was the 18th defeat for Chong Wei by Lin Dan in 24 meetings. But the runner-up finish was worth a cool
US$45,600 (RM139,000), which was more than the winning purse for the Super Series Masters and the Malaysia Open.
And coach Misbun Sidek saluted Chong Wei for showing toughness in having to play in a third final in a month.
“He played with such tenacity and intensity. He had to be on his toes from one tournament to another and he displayed a high level of play against Lin Dan,” said Misbun.
“To me, Chong Wei is extraordinary. He showed today that he has the ability in him to challenge Lin Dan.
“Chong Wei lost out on tactical and strategy towards the end and this is the extra that he has to work on. But be ready to expect the battle to become even much closer the next time around.”
After a closely fought two games, the money was on the rubber game to go down to the wire and both locked horns until 16-16.
And when it mattered most, a super cool Lin Dan injected a sudden pace into his game to romp home to victory.
The 29-year-old Chong Wei was dejected over the defeat but took consolation in making Lin Dan work very hard for victory.
“Although I lost, it was a good learning experience for me. It will help me to prepare better for the All-England next (in March) and I will be ready for the challenge again (of meeting Lin Dan), he said.
“It has been a rather hectic start for me to the year but I feel fine physically. I will take a short break for the Chinese New Year celebrations and relax my mind.”
China were the big winners of the lucrative championships with the women’s singles and doubles and the mixed doubles their family affairs. And Wang Yihan, Wang Xiaoli-Yu Yang and Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei emerged as champions.
There were cheers too for the home fans when men’s doubles hot-shots Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung nailed their third home title, beating top seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen 21-6, 21-13 in just 33 minutes.
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