Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei defeated China's Lin Dan in a nail-biting battle in the semi-finals of the badminton men's singles at the Rio Olympics.

Lee got off to a shaky start in the first set, trailing Lin Dan from the beginning and finally losing the set 15-21.

However, he made a strong comeback in the second set, quickly pulling ahead as Lin Dan struggled to keep up.

Lee won the second set with a strong score of 21-11.

Lin Dan stepped up his game in the final set and Lee responded with an equally formidable performance.

The score was close throughout the set with neither being able to be in the lead for long.

The game was so close that it went into a deuce, requiring a player to gain two continuous points, as both Lee and Lin Dan were at 20 points.

Despite the pressure, Lee maintained his composure and pulled off two additional points, taking the third set with a score of 22-20.

The match lasted for 79 minutes.

Several Malaysian athletes were also present to support Lee, including Rio Olympics silver medallist Pandelela Rinong, who shed tears after Lee won.

With the victory, Lee has secured a silver medal for the country.

However, all eyes will be on whether Lee can win a gold medal for Malaysia. He won silver in the previous two Olympics - in 2008 and 2012 - both times losing to Lin Dan.

Lee had earlier said the Rio Olympics would be his last shot for gold.

He will face off against China's Chen Long in the final at 8.20pm tomorrow.

This is the image Malaysia needs to see. Teamwork. Support. Passion. @Pandelela_R crying tears of joy for LCW. pic.twitter.com/uFnerLN78v

— Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) August 19, 2016