GUANGZHOU (AFP) - Defending world and Olympic champion Lin Dan is through to the final of the Badminton world championships yesterday, after a shaky start against a fired-up underdog.

Lin fell behind in the first game against tenacious Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Minh before stepping up, taking the first game 21-17. Eventually, the 30-year-old Chinese out-powered and out-manoeuvered Nguyen to take the second game 21-15.

The women's singles will see top seed Li Xuerui of China take on Thai 18-year-old Ratchanok Intanon, who outplayed fellow teen P.V. Sindhu in their semi-final.

But China will not achieve a third straight clean sweep of the world championships, after their men's doubles pair lost out to Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan 19-21, 17-21.