Anaheim, August 19:

World number one Lin Dan used a selective net attack and a barrage of smashes to overpower Shoji Sato in the third round of the badminton world championships. The 21-year-old Lin needed one hour, three minutes to defeat Sato and set up a quarter-final clash in men’s singles with South Korea’s Lee Hyun Ii. In one stellar stretch at the end of the first game, Lin registered four consecutive points to go up one game to zero. He stumbled in the second game, losing 15-9, before re-grouping to easily win the third 15-5. The quarter-finals will feature seven of the top eight seeds in the men’s draw. Lin moves on to battle 13th seeded Lee, who upset No 8 Mohammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia 15-11, 15-5. Second seed Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark overpowered England’s last surviving men’s hope Aamir Ghaffer 15-2, 15-4.