Lee Chong Wei wins the silver medal at the Olympics

I watched the match live on tv - Lee Chong Wei vs Lin Dan, the Olympic gold medal match. Lin Dan was simply in such sizzling form that there was nothing for Lee to catch on to in his game. So quick, with devastating smashing as well. Lee tried every trick in his book, deft flicks, disguised drops, last-minute cross net tricks, even a flick serve which Lin evaded simply by indicating he wasn't ready, forcing Lee to serve the let low once again.

However it was a clinical scoreline in the end, 21-12, 21-8. A little one-sided, but it was some spectacular badminton. Lee Chong Wei made quite a few net errors, the shuttle frequently dipping short of the net, but his drops were also a bit high - I think he could have done with the drops being tighter to the net (albeit dropping futher towards the base line) as Lin Dan was coming in quickly to kill those drops.

Lee had used his cross-court sliced smash to some great effect in the first game but Lin Dan soon learnt to prepare for it, although Lee had hit the net by then with yet another slice. His clears, especially those that were supposed to go over Lin Dan and across to the back court, were met by a leaping Lin who simply smashed down the line with a round-the-head. That shot is not as hard to play as it seems vis-a-vis trying a jump smash on the forehand with the shuttle in danger of looping over you.

Still, getting to the Olympic final is no mean feat, and the silver medal is a good addition to the tally, bringing Malaysia into the medal tables. Four more years then for a gold. Keep up the good work, Lee!