China's second seed Chen Long created the shock of the World Superseries Finals Saturday in Liuzhou as he knocked out defending champion and world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, 21-16, 16-21, 21-18. In the second semifinal Lin Dan of China beat Peter Gade of Denmark 21-12, 21-15. Lee's rivalry with Chinese ace Dan has been the focal point of this season and the two were expected to meet in the final Sunday, but 22-year-old Chen put a stunning end to speculation about a rematch. Chen sprayed 24 smashes past Lee – the same number as in his defeat over former Olympic Champion Taufik Hidayat — as well as 15 clean winners, in a contest lasting an hour and 19 minutes. Lee, who has won all three editions of badminton's season finale, was a stronger performer at the net, with 14 winners against Chen's 8, but the second seed's smashes proved too good in the end. In women's singles semifinals action, top seed Wang Yihan of China beat her compatriot Wang Xin in straight games 21-19, 21-16. Saina Nehwal then became the first Indian singles player to reach the final of Superseries Finals after defeating Tine Baun of Denmark. World No. 4 Saina beat No. 5 Baun 21-17, 21-18 in 34 minutes to set up the summit clash against Wang. The $500,000 showdown featuring the top eight singles players and doubles pairs has reached the semifinals stage and the finals will be played Sunday.
