KUALA LUMPUR (14 MAY 2010) – World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei who had gone 18 matches without a loss this year came unstuck against three-time world champions Lin Dan of China in the first singles in the Thomas Cup semi-final before a packed Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight.
"It was not my game. The whole match was disappointing," said Chong Wei afterwards.
China handed Malaysia a 3-0 beating to book their place in the final against Indonesia, who had earlier beaten Japan also by a similar scoreline.
Chong Wei, winner of the Korean Open, the Malaysian Open and the All-England was beaten by a pumped up Lin Dan who had a lean spell this year until he won the Asian Championships in New Delhi prior to his arrival into Kuala Lumpur.
The Chinese ace then celebrated his victory over Chong Wei by taking off his shirt and throwing it on the court before rasing his hands and racquet to acknowledge his triumph in the much awaited match between the two.
When asked at a press conference afterwards the reason why he took off his shirt after securing the winning point Lin Dan said: "in 2004 when I beat Peter Gade (Christensen) to win the first point for China in the final against Denmark in Jakarta, I celebrated that win in a similar fashion. It was no different today.
“I played very well today and taking the first point for my team was a morale booster. It is always important to win the first point.
Lin Dan, however, said Malaysia paid the price of putting too much pressure on themselves in wanting to end an eighteen year wait to win back the Thomas Cup.
“They (Malaysia) put themselves under tremendous pressure thinking of the 18-year wait. Chong Wei was under pressure to get the first point and crumbled easily.
Chong Wei himself admitted that he 'thought too much in wanting to win the Thomas Cup' and lost focus in the game.
“The court looked small to me and I did not know where to hit the shuttle. Nothing went right. I fumbled with the half court returns,” said Chong Wei, who was expected to take the first point for Malaysia.
China then rode on Lin Dan’s smashing win to take the first doubles through their veteran pair Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng who displayed all round superiority to whip World No 1 and Malaysia’s top pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong 21-15, 21-10 in 36 minutes.
And Wong Choong Hann was totally out-played by 2008 All England champion Chen Jin 21-16, 21-7 in 41 minutes to land China’s third and winning point.
China’s chief coach Li Yongbo said: "anything was possible It could have been 3-0 or 3-2. It did matter as we were ready for the challenge. My players were fully focused on winning the match."
"The Malaysians gave their best but crumbled under tremendous pressure. The Malaysian supporters also put us under lot of pressure but we were experienced enough to handle such situations.
“If you cannot handle such pressure in a big tournament, even home advantage can back fire on you. That is what happened to Malaysia,” said Yongbo.
