Super Dan to face world No. 1 Chen in All England semifinals

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Double Olympic champion Lin Dan fought off tough challenge to beat Japan's Kento Momota and booked a semifinal berth at the All England Championships here on Friday.

Lin, bidding for his sixth All England title, will vie for the final berth against top seed and teammate Chen Long, who eased past sixth seed Chou Tien Chen 21-11, 21-11 in the day's another match.

Momota posed serious threat to Lin, taking a 6-3 lead before Lin managed to level the score at 7-7.

The 20-year-old Japanese went ahead again at 9-7 thanks to his powerful smashes, but the 31-year-old Super Dan managed to make it 10-10 and 12-12.

The two exchanged lead and when the scoreline was equalled again at 18-18. The experience prevailed as Lin scored three points in a row and sealed the game 21-18.

Lin, also a five-time world champion, jumped to 16-9 in the second game, but Momota made a fabulous comeback to make it 19-18. Lin took his chance again and won 20-19.

"It was a tough match," Lin said. "I have never played him before. I lost concentration in the second game when I took a comfortable lead. He is very young and has no pressure, but for me, it is a different story."

He added, "There will be more and more young talented players rising. I can expect that. But since I have decided to stay on the tour, I will not be afraid of their challenge. I will fight for more victories instead."

The other men's semifinal will be held between second seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark and Japan's Sho Sasaki. Jorgensen defeated fellow Dane Viktor Axelsen 24-2, 21-14 while Sho eliminated Rajiv Ouseph of England 21-14, 21-11.

In the women's singles, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, who became the youngest ever world champion in 2013, left her quarterfinal match in a wheelchair after suffering cramp.

Sun Yu of China had rallied back from 11-5 down to lead 19-13 before Intanon fell awkwardly going for a backhand return. She next plays India's Saina Nehwal, who beat Wang Yihan of China for the first time.

The 20-year-old Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei ousted second seed Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea. She faces world champion Carolina Marin of Spain for a place in the final.

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