Chong Wei (left) and Lin Dan hug after the match in their mutual respect.

Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei shrugged off eight years of Olympic heartbreak yesterday to defeat his nemesis Lin Dan 15-21, 21-11, 22-20 and reach the men's final after another classic encounter.

Having succumbed to Lin in the gold medal deciders at London and Beijing, top seed Lee gained sweet revenge by dumping out the Chinese great who saved three match points before finally breaking in a deciding game of unrelenting tension.

"I think this is my first time to beat Lin Dan at a big competition. And I lost twice in the 2008 and 2012 finals to him. I'm very proud to have beaten Lin Dan," Lee, lathered in sweat after the exhausting clash, told reporters. "Today me and Lin Dan played a very good game. All who saw the match would think it was a great game."

It felt like a gold medal match for Lee, who celebrated wildly as Malaysian fans erupted in cheers, but another formidable Chinese stands in the way of the veteran's path to an elusive title.

Chen Long, long in the shadow of Lin, humbled Danish fourth seed Viktor Axelsen 21-14, 21-15 to reach the final after grabbing the bronze four years ago.

Chen, 27, beat Lee in the 2014 and 2015 world championship finals, denying the Malaysian yet another major title.

In the women's final, Spanish top seed Carolina Marin outlasted India's P V Sindhu 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 yesterday.

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