Chen Long crushes Hu Yun in Li Ning China Masters final
Mainlander is seen as new dominating force, as straight-sets win in final dashes HK hopes
Mainlander Chen Long was hailed as the heir apparent to the current king of badminton, compatriot Lin Dan, after his straight-sets victory over Hong Kong's Hu Yun in the Li Ning China Masters final yesterday.
The London Olympic Games bronze medallist's crushing 21-11, 21-13 win dashed Hong Kong's hopes of seeing one of their players become the first to claim a men's Super Series event title.
Hu, a China national team member before moving to Hong Kong in 2006, had little complaint after being outclassed by the 23-year-old top seed.
"It won't surprise me if Chen becomes the new king of men's badminton," said China coach Li Yongbo. "He has the quality and his next step will be competing against Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei for major titles. In fact, the era of Lin, Lee, Peter Gade and Taufik Hidayat as the 'big four' in the sport will soon come to an end and Chen will be the key challenger to take over."
London Olympic gold medallist Lin, who will marry his long-time girlfriend Xie Xingfang on Sunday, has rejected speculation he would retire from the sport, while Malaysian Lee has said he would continue to play at least until the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Hu, who achieved the best Super Series event result of any Hong Kong men's player, agreed Chen was the dominating force of the future.