BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) – China maintained their dominance of the All-England Badminton Championships on Saturday although Lee Chong Wei stole most of the attention at the National Indoor Arena.
The Malaysian raced into a 5-0 lead in the first game of his men's singles semi-final before Korean Son Wan Ho rallied to take it 21-14.
Olympic silver medallist Wei then hit back to claim the next two games 21-19 21-15 to secure his place in the final.
He next faces title holder Chen Long in a repeat of last year's final after he disposed of fellow Chinese Wang Zhengmong 21-17 21-14.
"Every time I play Wei it is a tough match. I try to learn from my experiences of playing with him because he is a great player," Chen told reporters.
"I think the match is equal in terms of our performance level and it's just about who comes out as the better player."
The finals in the women's singles and doubles will be all-Chinese affairs on Sunday.
Wang Shixian claimed her place in the singles final and Li Xuerui joined her by beating Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 21-18 21-8.
Last year Intanon, at the age of 18, became the youngest-ever finalist at the All-England event but she was unable to make it two in a row.
