Xie Xingfang from China, the top seed for the badminton women's singles at the Beijing Olympic Games, on Friday checked into the final game by beating her teammate Lu Lan.

Xie lost the first game at 7-21 over a slow start, but she recollected herself and won the next two games with an overwhelming predominance at 21-10, 21-12.

Xie, at the age of 27, seemed to be more experienced on the court than a 21-year-old Lu. "Lu made some unforced mistakes in the decisive game, maybe she was just too nervous," said Xie.

Lu began to lag behind after 9-9 in the third game, and garnered only three more points when the game finished.

Lu said she was satisfied with her performance, but admitted the lack of experiences.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)