11 April 2004	Sunday	20 Safar 1425

TOKYO, April 10: Bao Chunlai ended reigning All England champion Lin Dan's match-winning streak with a straightforward victory Saturday to secure his place in the finals of the Japan Open badminton tournament.

Bao, ranked fourth in the world, gained the momentum when Lin made an error-prone start and never allowed his Chinese teammate to come back into the match for a 15-13, 15-10 win in the men's singles semi-finals.

Ronald Susilo of Singapore, the 15th seed, had to work hard to earn a final place against Bao, as he faced a tough challenge from unseeded South Korean Park Tae-Sang before winning 13-15, 15-10, 15-11.

Atlanta Olympic silver medallist Mia Audina Tjiptawan of the Netherlands upset the prospects of an all-Chinese women's singles final by eliminating last year's All England champion Zhou Mi 11-4, 2-11, 11-4.

In the final, Audia will face world number one Gong Ruina, who beat fellow Chinese Zhang Ning 11-0, 11-6.

For the 21-year-old Bao, it was his first win over Lin in a 15-point system after beating him three times when the International Badminton Federation had temporarily introduced a seven-point system three years ago.

Bao lost to Lin three times afterwards in the 15-point system for a 4-3 record overall.

"Lin Dan integrated himself quicker than I did to the 15-point system. That's why he had been winning recently," said Bao.

"Everybody in our team says Lin Dan is in best form right now. We practice with each other a lot and we know each other very well. It depends on who can keep himself calm and today I did it better. That's why I beat him today," he said.

"Lin Dan was also calm at the beginning. But when I took the lead in the first game, especially when I took the first game point (at 14-11), I think he lost his concentration."

For Lin, it was his first singles defeat after losing to Lee Hyun-Il of South Korea in the German Open final in October.

Since then, Lin has won the Hong Kong Open, the China Open, five matches in the Thomas Cup qualifier, the Swiss Open and the prestigious All England last month.

But Lin was not overly concerned about the end of his winning streak.

"It could happen at any time, it's natural. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose," he said.

"I was not tired today (after beating Peter Gade of Denmark in three games Friday), I just couldn't play consistently. I'm not so serious about winning or losing," said Lin.

Susilo said Park may have lost his concentration, and the game, after receiving a yellow card by complaining about a linesperson's call at 9-9 in the final game.

"It didn't affect my concentration, perhaps it affected Tae-Sang," said Susilo, who took the following three points in a row before finishing off a tough 104-minute battle.

"In the first game I tried to speed up the game, play a more attacking game, and I took the lead, I think it was 8-1, but afterwards, I lost my concentration and he was able to come back."

Susilo however said his concentration returned for the rest of the match to earn him victory.

Results:

Men's singles (semifinals): Bao Chunlai (CHN x5) bt Lin Dan (CHN x1) 15-13, 15-10; Ronald Susilo (SIN x15) bt Park Tae-Sang (KOR) 13-15, 15-10, 15-11

Women's singles (semifinals): Gong Ruina (CHN x1) bt Zhang Ning (CHN x3) 11-0, 11-6; Mia Audina Tjiptawan (NED x4) bt Zhou Mi (CHN x2) 11-4, 2-11, 11-4.-AFP