BADMINTON/Taiwanese shuttler Lin Chun-yi finishes 2nd at Orléans Masters

Taipei, March 10 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi (林俊易) had to settle for silver in the men's singles at the Orléans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent.

The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena.

It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers.

In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points.

Despite his efforts to catch up, Lin made numerous unforced errors, and the world No. 16 French player took the first game.

In the second game, Lin was leading 11-9 at one point, but Lanier quickly caught up after the mid-interval to tie 16-16, before shutting down the match with a win.

Lin's coach Feng Sheng-chieh (馮勝杰) said the Taiwanese player was overwhelmed by the sheer speed and power of the French shuttler early on in the match.

"He probably fell behind because he couldn't keep up at first and then allowed the gap to widen,” Feng said.

Despite the loss, the championship match was a good learning experience for Lin and has greatly boosted his confidence, the coach said.

Feng said Lin needs to build stamina, especially with another competition coming up in just two or three days.

The Taiwanese player is expected to compete later this week in the All England Open, which is a Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 event.