China's badminton superstar Lin Dan was knocked out by Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen 21-10, 21-10 in a thrilling tie during the second round of the 2019 Asian Badminton Championships in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, on Thursday.
Lin and Chou fought from 1-1 to 5-5 in the first set before Chou broke the deadlock with fierce attacks to take it 21-10.
Lin, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, turned out to be the first Chinese player eliminated in the men's singles in this year's Championships.
"Chou played aggressively and most of his attacks ended up in scores. Compared to him, I made more mistakes in the game," Lin said. "I was not at my best as expected."
Lin who had played Chou eight times and hardly failed except one, said he would like to aim at a better score for a ticket to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
"It is time for me to make some adjustments for a better performance in the upcoming New Zealand Open on April 30," Lin said.
