Lin Dan reaches final at Asia Championships

Five-times world champion Lin Dan reached the men's singles final atthe Badminton Asia Championships in South Korea on Saturday.The Chinese star has just one final hurdle to face before he can secure his third continental title, after beating compatriot Liu Kai 21-14, 21-13 in the semi-finals injust 27 minutes.Lin has yet to drop a set and has never needed more than 34 minutes to win any ofhis matches so far in Gimcheon, about 230 kilometers (144 miles) southeast ofSeoul.Lin, once ranked number one, has fallen to 83rd following an extended hiatus. Buthe returned to action at the China Masters earlier this month and went on to win theevent on home soil. Lin will face world number 23, Sho Sasaki of Japan, in Sunday's final. Sasakidefeated Hwang Jong-Soo of South Korea 21-13, 21-15 in the semi-finals.Lin has beaten Sasaki nine times out of ten matches across their careers, the soleloss coming at the Indonesia Open in 2011.South Korean Shin Baek-Cheol made it into finals in the men's doubles and themixed doubles. In the men's event, Shin teamed up with Yoo Yeon-Seong to upsetthe third-seeded tandem of Jongjit Maneepong and Puangpuapech Nipitphon ofThailand, 21-17, 22-20.Shin and his mixed doubles partner Jang Ye-Na then upended the number two seedfrom Thailand, Prapakamol Sudket and Thoungthongkam Saralee, 21-11, 21-12.In the men's doubles final, it will be Shin and Yoo against Li Junhui and Liu Yuchenof China. The mixed doubles final will pit Shin and Jang against Lee Chun Hei andChau Hoi Wah of Hong Kong, the number three seed.Both the women's singles and the women's doubles finals will have South Koreanflavour on Sunday. In the singles, Sung Ji-Hyun beat Sayaka Takahashi of Japan 23-21, 21-13, to set up amatchup against the top-seeded Wang Shixian of China on Sunday. Wang outdueledP.V. Sindhu of India 15-21, 22-20, 21-12 over 78 minutes in the semi-finals.South Korea's Kim Ha-Na and Jung Kyung-Eun made the women's doubles final after getting past Zhong Qianxin and Xia Huan of China, 21-23, 21-15, 21-16.Their opponents Sunday will be Luo Ying and Luo Yu of China, who defeatedPonnappa Ashwini and Gutta Jwata of India 21-12, 21-7 in the semi-finals. Source: AFP