China's Lin Dan competes during the men's singles badminton semifinal against Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 19, 2016. Lee Chong Wei beat Lin Dan with 2:1.(Xinhua/Wang Peng)
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RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Badminton's long time rivals Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei Friday presented one last Olympic showdown between them with Lee eventually overcoming two-time Olympic gold medalist Lin 15-21, 21-11, 22-20 to advance to the final at the Rio Olympics.
Lin and Lee exchanged jerseys and hugged each other following the match, after 16 years of being both rivals and friends.
As a seasoned veteran, Lin is the one who best understands Lee's efforts and wished him good luck.
"I hope he can have a good performance tomorrow in the final. As we become older, both of us have to train really really hard to stay at the level we are now," said Lin, 32.
Lee will face Lin's teammate Chen Long, a two-time world champion, in the men's singles final after Chen claimed an easy victory over Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 21-14, 21-15.
China's "Super Dan" won record two consecutive Olympic gold medals at the Beijing and London Olympic Games, twice beating Malaysian Lee in the finals to mount the top of the podium.
This time in Rio, similar history had seemed to repeat itself when Lin sailed to a first set win 21-15 with ease in the semifinals. However, Lee fought back in the second and took the match to the decisive third set.
The two players went point for point until Lee managed to pulled away at 20-17 but Lin saved the match points to level the score at 20-20. Lee eventually withstood the pressure by taking the final two points to claim the long-awaited victory.
"I never beat Lin Dan at the important world competitions such as Olympics and World Championships," said Lee. "When I finally won the match, I thanks the god. It's destiny."
"I feel proud for both of us. We can still compete together with young shuttlers at the age of 33. This is our fourth Olympics. It's an honor to represent my country."
