Beijing: Bad boy Lin Dan led China to a gold bonanza in badminton, as the hosts won three out of the five titles up for grabs, equalling their tally in Athens four years ago.
Chinese coach Li Yongbo said he was satisfied with the haul despite the formidable team, who dominate the world rankings, gunning for a clean sweep but falling short in the men's and mixed doubles.
Lin, the star of the team and known as Super Dan to his legion of fans, kept his notorious fiery temper in check to clinch the men's singles crown over Malaysian second seed Lee Chong Wei with a superb display of power and skill.
The world No.1 and back-to-back world champion declared after Sunday's win that more was to come, with no plans for retirement.
"I have a lot more things to achieve besides the world championships and the Olympic Games," the 24-year-old Lin said.
China's veteran of the sport Zhang Ning played through injury to defend her Athens crown against teammate and world number one Xie Xingfang, the girlfriend of Lin Dan -- who are regarded in China as the golden couple.
Zhang broke down in tears after becoming the oldest player to win the title at 33, an achievement coach Li hailed as a miracle.
"It is really a miracle for Zhang Ning to retain the Olympic gold."
Her entrance to the Beijing Olympic Games was even in doubt two months ago," Li told Chinese reporters.
"Maybe this is the beauty of the Olympiad."
While Li, who drills his charges with military precision, also applauded the women's doubles pair for their gold, he said some of his younger shuttlers had not lived up to expectations.
Indonesia also enjoyed success, clinching the country's first gold at these Games, on the eve of Sunday's independence day, through world champions Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan.
The world No. 1s sizzled in Beijing, demolishing all in their path including China's second seeds in the final, and extending Indonesia's dominance of the men's doubles to three Olympics, since badminton was introduced at the 1992 Games.
Indonesia also threw up the surprise of the tournament, softly-spoken Maria Kristin Yulianti, who, ranked just 21 in the world, took down some of the tournament's top seeds to clinch bronze for her country.
But Indonesia's hopes in the men's singles were dashed early when defending Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat, suffering the lingering effects of dengue fever, crashed out in the first round.
Their top male shuttler Sony Dwi Kuncoro followed in the quarter-finals.
South Korea also took home gold, Lee Hyojung and Lee Yongdae winning the mixed doubles by pulling off a stunning upset over Indonesian world champions Liliyana Natsir and Nova Widianto.
Coach Lee Dong-Soo hailed the gold as the start of a new era for South Korean badminton after several lean years.
"There was a period when badminton in Korea was very disappointing and it felt like the world had stopped. I feel elated about this achievement," he said.
"This is the greatest gift."
Lee Hyojung, 27, was South Korea's star, winning silver in the women's doubles as well as gold in the mixed.
But there was heartbreak for Malaysia which had been hoping Lee, the world number two, would deliver the nation's first ever Olympic gold in any sport.
With Malaysia's highly fancied men's doubles pairs crashing out early, followed by Lee's girlfriend and top shuttler Wong Mew Choo, the pressure mounted on Lee as the final drew closer.
Lee expressed concern straight after the match that fans might blame him for the loss, but the mild-mannered shuttler was hailed Monday as a national hero.
"Chong Wei will still be considered a hero because he has contributed a silver to the country and at the same time ended a 12-year wait as Malaysia had not won a single medal since the 1996 edition," Malaysia's sports minister said in Beijing.
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