"Super Dan" edges Japanese Sasaki to reach semis

 LONDON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Defending Olympic champion Lin Dan dropped a game to Japanese shuttler Sasaki Sho before winning the hard battle Thursday evening, so as to advance into the semifinal of men's singles.

Both left-handed players, their competition was so fierce that each exchange took a long time. The pair dashed across the court, falling down sometimes for retrieve¹.

Lin, 29, who tops the world's ranking, controlled the rhythm of the first game with a 21-12 result.

In the second game, Lin changed a racket. The more aggressive Sasaki spared no effort in each shot, frequently changing direction and speed. In comparison, the Chinese star made some wrong judgements on where the shuttlecock would land. With his last shot crossing the side line, the set ended 16-21.

Lin displayed his explosiveness in the decider, lashing² smashes³ to pull ahead. As Sasaki made his last attempt with a forceful strike, the world champion threw himself down on the court to hit back, but the shuttlecock dropped beyond the line. 21-17.

"He is a very good player, very tenacious," Lin said of his rival. "He is the same age as me and this is his last Olympics as well, so he tried his best."

Lin said he played smoothly⁴ in the first set, while in the second, when he was behind, his mindset wasn't good. "I didn't do quite well, especially when I failed to build on my lead. But I didn't make big mistakes and I believe I will do better."

In the next match he will be playing against seventh seed Lee Hyun Il from South Korea. In their previous 16 encounters Lin holds 13 victories.

Lee Hyun Il edged out another Chinese player Chen Jin to make to the semi-finals.

"I did my best and it has already been a success to come here," Chen said.

The fourth seed, 26, said he has been playing badminton for nearly 20 years. "This is not my last Olympics. I am still young and I have the ability to compete."

Earlier on Thursday, another Chinese player Chen Long defeated veteran shuttler Peter Gade from Denmark. He will meet the Malaysian badminton legend Lee Chong Wei in the semifinal.

1 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

2 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 smashes   

v.打碎，捣烂( smash的第三人称单数 )；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• It's the lunatic fringe of the Animal Liberation Front which smashes the windows of butchers' shops, not ordinary members like us. 是“动物解放阵线”的极端分子打碎了肉店的玻璃窗，可不是我们这样的普通成员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He smashes the watch in frustrrustration. 将军此刻的心情是得意与失意参半。 来自辞典例句

4 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。