Last night, the badminton men's single finals show two of the best players in the world duke it out for the gold medal. For our national hero Lee Chong Wei, a lot is put at stake for him.
Malaysia, a country that has been formed 55 years ago has not win any gold medal in the Olympics since its debut in 1956 (yeah, a year before we gained independence).
While Lee Chong Wei, who suffered an injury a while back, tried his best to push himself through the men's badminton round after round, and he did. Even during the his semi final match, you could world number 3 Chen Long is in a way different skill level than him - he's good, but compared to the world's number 1 & 2, he's got a long way to reach their level.
That said, Chinese world number 1 Lin Dan was in top form. No one has ever come close to beating him. The final match between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei is the repeat of the Beijing Olympics 4 years ago, where Lin Dan got gold and Chong Wei had to settle for silver. But not this time for Chong Wei, he's eyeing for gold this time and wants to defeat his nemesis to earn it.
It's pretty amazing that these two guys are the same two guys in the finals 4 years ago. It just shows that they're so good, that even 4 years later, no one could match their skill at their best form.
As the final match commenced, both of them were neck in neck. Eventually Chong Wei was able to widen the gap and he took the first set. In the next set however, the Chinese coach found out Chong Wei's weakness and was able to ask Lin Dan to exploit it. Chong Wei, knowing that it would take a lot of his stamina to catch up opt to lose the second round so that he could save his stamina for the final set.
The final set would be one of the best matches played. Both of them were neck in neck till the end. Chong Wei got a 2 point lead at 19:17 at first, but Lin Dan managed to make it even. In the end Lin Dan scored his 20th point, and the shuttlecock hit by Chong Wei that landed out of the court made Lin Dan the defender of the Olympic Gold medal.
It was an amazing match, but sadly Malaysia would not get their first ever Olympic gold medal this year. Lee Chong Wei was upset, but he shouldn't be. He did well, he tried his best, and most important of all, he united us of different races to support him as he played the game of his life. He brought us closer than anything 1Malaysia has ever done, and for that we salute you.
Hopefully next time, Chong Wei will end up coaching the player that will bring us the gold for our country. We know he can, and we believe in him. Until then, congratulations to you, Lee Chong Wei, for getting silver for the 2nd time in the Olympics despite you just recovering from your injury and just practicing weeks before the Olympics.
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