Lin Dan breezes into All England semi-finals
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-21 10:05

Top seed Lin Dan of China breezed into the semi-finals of the All England badminton championships with an easy 15-10 15-3 victory on Friday over sixth seed Kenneth Johanssen of Denmark.

Number one seed China's Lin Dan hits a return during his quarter-final match against Denmark's Kenneth Jonassen at the All England Open Badminton Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, Friday, Jan.20, 2006. Lin won the match 15-10, 15-3. [AP]

Lin, the winner in 2004, was on top of his game and fine cross-court smashes at various points in the match had the Dane floundering.

Johanssen's defeat left his compatriot Peter Gade, champion in 1999, as the sole non-Asian in the men's singles.
Gade, seeded four, faced a tricky quarter-final later on Friday against China's world junior champion Chen Jin, unseeded here but a fast-emerging force.

In the mixed doubles, champions Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms of England battled to a thrilling 15-5 8-15 15-13 victory over China's Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen.