Three-time Olympic champion Lin Dan has now been dethroned as the champion of the men's singles category in the All-England Open, Straits Times reported.
Lin, who was touted as "the greatest player of all time," lost the title to fellow Chinese, Shi Yuqi. Though he was able to hold two game points (20-18) during the first game, he was defeated in the remaining matches with the scores of 24-22 and 21-10.
Speaking the night before his match, Lin shared that his "condition [was] not very good."
Lin's recent loss ended fans' hopes to see the 33-year-old veteran compete against Malaysia's top player, Lee Chong Wei, who has already landed a spot in the finals.
Lee, a 34-year-old champ, meanwhile enthused that he is "proud of the way [he] is still able to play at this level at [his] age." He was able to reach the open's finals for the seventh time.
Analysts are forecasting that the Malaysian sports superstar will reclaim the All-England title and win it for the fourth time.
Although he earlier revealed that he has not still fully recovered from the left knee injury he got from tripping on a badminton mat last month. "I just focus myself and do what I can. I just came here to enjoy it."
Moreover, amid previous news of him retiring from the playing, Lee announced that he will be back again next year despite him turning 35.
Meanwhile, for the All-England Open's women's final, top-seeded Taiwanese Tai Tzu Ying is slated to go up against Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon, who at the age of 18 has been regarded as the youngest world champ and the youngest finalist in the competition.
Like Lee, Ratchanok has also recovered from injuries. Competitor Tai had her fair share of difficulties after losing her first game with Korea's Sung Ji-Hyun at 21-11, before finishing it with an 11-21, 21-14, 21-14 success.