CIXI, China, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former world No.1 Lin Dan failed to lift the two-time defending champions Qingdao Renzhou to the China Badminton Super League final, as he was beaten by Zhejiang Nengyuan's Huang Yuxiang in the men's singles here on Thursday.
Super Dan went onto the court when his team was down by 2-1, as Zhejiang clinched two points in the men's doubles and women's singles while Qingdao pulled one back in the women's doubles.
The two-time Olympic champion wasn't the hero today. His opponent Huang, 10 years younger than him, went into the game in better form and wrapped up the victory 22-20, 21-10.
"Our team had a really good regular season. Maybe because we didn't face any difficulty before, and today when our rivals played better, we didn't know what to do," said the 35-year-old Lin. As the defending champions, Qingdao were ranked first in the standings after a regular season with 11 victories in 12 rounds.
"I tried to play more aggressively in the game, and when we played in an international tournament before, Lin taught me a lot which was a great help for me," Huang said after the match.
Zhejiang couldn't have had a better start in the semifinal as Wang Yilyu and Wang Sijie beat Olympic champion Zhang Nan and his partner Li Junhui in the men's doubles 21-17, 21-17. The National Games winner Chen Yufei then expanded Zhejiang's advantage as she rallied to beat Chen Xiaoxin 17-21, 21-12, 11-8 in the women's singles.
Qingdao's only victory was earned by twin duo Luo Ying and Luo Yu as they defeated Huang Yaqiong and Ni Bowen 21-12, 21-15 in the women's doubles.
Waiting in the final for Zhejiang are Xiamen Tefang, who knocked out Jiangsu Annier with three straight wins in the men's doubles, women's singles and women's doubles.
