Olympic Badminton 2016: Men's Singles Medal Winners, Scores and Results

World champion Chen Long was crowned Olympic champion in men’s singles badminton on Saturday, as he got the better of Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) in the final.

The world No. 1 Lee came into the match as the favourite, but Chen’s tenacity and refusal to bow out saw him reign supreme.

There was another surprise in the bronze-medal match earlier in the day, as Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen found a way past London 2012 champion Lin Dan to secure third place.

Here’s a look at the full results from the men’s singles medal matches:

Medal	Score	Matches
Gold	Chen Long 2-0 Lee Chong Wei	21-18, 21-18
Bronze	Viktor Axelsen 2-1 Lin Dan	15-21, 21-10, 21-17

Gold	China
Silver	Malaysia
Bronze	Denmark

In the opening match of the gold-medal clash, Chen took an early lead and got Lee into the kind of rallies he didn’t want to be involved in.

Chen’s reach makes him incredibly difficult to get the better of in long encounters, and the Chinese star was grinding down his opponent brilliantly.

But Lee came roaring back and demonstrated exactly why he’s one of the best in the business, with his smashes proving unplayable. YouTube star Jin Lim was one of many impressed with Lee’s power:

The duo were exchanging blows and keeping close tabs on each other, but at the business end of the match, Chen prevailed.

Two sloppy mistakes from Lee teed up the Chinaman for smashes, and he took full advantage to take the first game 21-18, as ST Sports Desk revealed:

The second game was just as topsy-turvy as the first, with Lee once again struggling to deal with Chen’s impeccable defensive tactics.

The Chinese star found himself 15-11 to the good, which meant it was panic stations for Malaysia’s finest.

He was trying to hit the big shots when they weren’t on in pure desperation, and that allowed Chen to get over the line courtesy of a second 21-18 match win.

The 2-0 victory was nothing more than Chen deserved; he got his tactics absolutely spot on when it mattered most and can now call himself the Olympic champion.

As for Lee, it’s now three lots of Olympics heartbreak on the spin, and he now needs to wait another four years for a shot at redemption.