'Super Dan' takes first win since Olympics

Lin Dan returns a ball to Tuan Duc Do.

China's Lin Dan saw off Vietnam's Tuan Duc Do in just 24 minutes yesterday as he flew to his first victory since successfully defending his Olympic title in London last year.

'Super Dan', an icon in China and rated by many as badminton's greatest player, made light of his eight-month break as he breezed through 21-12, 21-6 to reach the second round of the Badminton Asia Championships in Taipei.

The 29-year-old has won every major title going but he has been off the scene since the Olympic final last August, apart from his marriage to fellow badminton star Xie Xingfang and an exhibition match in December.

Do, the world No. 422, put up a fight early on but the match was over as a contest when Lin reeled off 10 points in a row at the start of game two, followed by another six-point burst.

Lin, whose ranking has dropped to 40 during his long absence, will face a greater test today when he comes up against third seed Hu Yun of China's Hong Kong, a semifinalist at last month's Swiss Open. Hu outlasted Thailand's Poodchalat Pisit 21-19, 9-21, 21-10.

Chinese top seed Chen Long beat Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long 21-12, 24-22, second seed Du Pengyu beat Hsu Shao-wen of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-16 and sixth seed Wang Zhengming eased past Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif of Malaysia 21-18, 21-19, while women's Olympic champion Li Xuerui went through against fellow Chinese Yu Sun, a qualifier, winning 21-15, 21-18.

Also, women's second seed Wang Yihan struggled to beat Indonesian Hera Desi 17-21, 21-16, 21-15 and third seed Wang Shixian swept past Singapore's Gu Juan 21-10, 21-19.

With some top Asian rivals skipping the event, China has a strong chance of replicating its achievement at the Olympics by winning all five titles on offer.

《'Super Dan' takes first win since Olympics》永久阅读地址: http://91kudian.com/yingyu/17205/