Lin beats Gade, RI men shut out

Lin beats Gade, RI men shut out

HONG KONG: World number one Lin Dan of China overcame the challenge of Denmark's Peter Gade in the men's singles at the US$250,000 Hong Kong Open on Friday, but Indonesian badminton players were conspicuous in their absence from the last eight lineup.

Li had to deep dig in his arsenal of shots to defeat the world number seven 17-16, 13-15, 15-12 in a 110-minute marathon encounter that produced brilliant rallies, controversial line- calls and exceptional shot-making, Agence France-Presse reported.

On Thursday, Athens Olympic gold medalist and world champion Taufik Hidayat was bundled out in the third round by southpaw nemesis Wong Choong-Hann of Malaysia 7-15, 15-9, 15-12.

"Wong played the final few points well and was tenacious throughout. I didn't play to the best of my ability and he took advantage of that. There was some breeze coming from one side. It affected my game," said fifth seeded Taufik, who is now 3-6 in head-to-head meetings with the Malaysian.

Two other national players -- 14th seeded Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Simon Santoso -- lost in the first and second rounds respectively. -- JP