Malaysia's badminton men's singles player Lee Chong Wei had to settle for silver after losing to China's Chen Long, despite a spirited performance at the Rio Olympics.

Lee was defeated in straight sets but both sets were fiercely contested with the score remaining close for the most part of the game.

He got off to a shaky start in the first set with Chen Long taking an early lead at 0-4 but the former quickly pulled himself together, equalising at 4-4.

The score remained close until the end with Lee losing the first set 18-21.

The second set was just as competitive but Lee was plagued by a number of mistakes. He lost the set 18-21.

Chen Long took the gold medal while Denmark's Viktor Axelsen took bronze after defeating Lin Dan 15-21, 21-10, 21-17 for third place.

Lee's defeat marks the end of Malaysia's last chance to win the country's first Olympic gold medal in Rio De Janeiro.

Malaysia's national badminton team went into two other finals at the Rio Olympics.

The country's men's doubles pair Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong narrowly missed out on the gold medal yesterday after losing to China's Hu Haifeng and Zhang Nan 21-16, 11-21, 21-23.

The Malaysian duo took silver after a nail-biting contest.

Malaysia's Goh Liu Ying and Chan Peng Soon also took silver in the badminton mixed doubles final.

Despite the national badminton team not winning a gold medal, the country has achieved its best Olympics performance in history.

Malaysia's Pandelela Rinong and Cheong Jun Hoong also won silver in the 10m platform synchronised diving event while Azizulhasni Awang bagged a bronze medal in the men's keirin.

This means the country's Olympics team secured a total of four silver medals and one bronze.

The country had never won more than one silver medal in previous Olympics.