Chinese shuttler misses medal in Asiad men's singles 1st time in 16 years

JAKARTA - The Chinese badminton team is set to miss the men's singles medal at the Asian Games for the first time in 16 years following Chen Long's loss here on Sunday.

Chen fell to hometown favorite Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-19, 21-11 in 50 minutes in the quarterfinals.

"My opponent just did better than me. He deserved the victory. In terms of the atmosphere here, it (the loss) was normal," said Chen.

The last time that China failed to snatch medals in badminton men's singles dated back to the Busan Games in 2002.

It marked another victory for the Indonesian shuttlers over their Chinese counterparts in the men's singles at the tournament, after Jonatan Christie knocked out top-seeded Shi Yuqi out of round of 32.

Chen built a 14-9 lead in the first game, but Ginting bounced back with five straight points at 14-all.

"Home crowds' shouting made the difference," admitted Chen. "After leading 14-9 in the first game, I became conservative against my opponent's comeback, not playing in the same manner as that at the start. Ginting is good at attacking, and I felt great pressure in defending."

Both players were involved in a tussle en route to a 19-all tie, before the host player grasped his opportunity for the 21-19 victory in home crowds' support.

Chen found himself 6-11 down at the changeover of the second game, and never appeared to cut his deficit to fewer than five points later on. With his poor return dropped off the net, Ginting enjoyed his dreaming journey on home court after having eliminated reigning world champion Kento Momota of Japan on Saturday.

"I took two different mindsets prior to the match. If I met Momota, there would be less impact from home crowds, but the match would also be tough as I had lost to him twice.

"When facing Ginting, in consideration of heated atmosphere, it would possibly be tougher," said Chen.

"I got two silver medals four years ago. This time I won the team title, and tried my best in singles event," he added. "Spare no efforts, and do not leave regret behind, that's my goal at the tournament."

Ginting will take on Chou Tienchen of Chinese Taipei in Monday's semifinals.