GUANGZHOU, China - Chinese Lin Dan cruised past Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh in straight sets to reach the finals of the badminton world championships here on Saturday.

The Olympic and world champion, who was on the sidelines for the past year to spend time with his family and entered the tournament on a wildcard, will probably have another classic showdown agaist Lee Chong Wei if the world No. 1 beat third seeded Du Pengyu of China in tonight's semifinals.

"Super Dan" and his 30-year-old rival traded point for point at the start of the opening set, but the set started to go Lin's way after he sped up in attacking and eventually took it 21-17.

A more relaxed Lin went on to dominate the second set, taking it 21-15 as the Vietnamese lost his confidence and made more errors.

"This time was Nguyen's closest chance towards worlds' finals. He has strong mind and plays well recently, so I make full preparation before the match," said Lin.

Talking about the possible clash against his Malaysian arch-rival Lee, Lin said, "Lee doesn't have a rest after last year's Olympics and his form has been good. I will do my best tomorrow."