Rio de Janeiro, Aug 19 (IANS) World No.2 Chen Long on Friday thrashed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in straight sets 21-14, 21-15 in the men's singles semi-finals of the badminton competitions to set up an epic final encounter against Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia at the Rio Olympics here.
The second seeded Chinese took only 48 minutes to shatter Denmark's dream of winning an Olympic gold medal at the Pavillion 4 of the Riocentro.
Chen Long will take on the Malaysian superstar Lee Chong Wei in the final of the men's singles event here on Saturday.
Chen Long is an 2012 London Olympic Bronze medallist, 2014 and 2015 World Champion, and 2013 and 2015 All England champion.
While on the other hand, Chong Wei is a silver medallist in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, making him the sixth Malaysian to win an Olympic medal and the first Malaysian to reach the finals in the men's singles event.
It will be the 26th meeting between both the players with the Malaysian having a slender lead of one in the head-to-head encounters.
