Silver again for Lee Chong Wei as China's Chen Long wins gold in men's badminton
In the semi-final Lee beat nemesis Lin Dan of China, the man who bested him in the last two Olympic finals. But it was final heartbreak again for the Malaysian.
By winning gold, Chen Long emerged as a new power in men's badminton (Photo: Getty Images/Sean M.Haffey)
China's Chen Long won gold in men's badminton defeating Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei, who had to settle for a third straight Olympic silver medal.
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Lee, old by badminton standards at 33, was world no.1 and the favourite for gold coming into the final.
Lee faced massive pressure not to lose another gold medal, and was coming off the back of an epic semi-final match a day earlier against China's Lin Dan, the man who beat him in the last two Olympic finals.
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Both Lee and Lin are considered to be the best players of their era and maybe of all time.
Lee's defeat means that Malaysia have still not won an Olympic gold medal.
Silver medal for the third Games straight for Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia (Photo: Getty Images/Sean M.Haffey)
Chen led early in first game of the best-of-three final then trailed before capitalising on repeated Lee errors at the net to pull ahead and take the first game 21-18. Chen then fought back from an early Lee lead in the second game to power by the Malaysian 21-18.
Viktor Axelsen of Denmark earlier beat a deflated Lin Dan for bronze.
Chen Long is the new Olympic champion (Photo: Getty Images/Sean M.Haffey)
