Having been beaten by Lin in the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic finals, Lee was determined to dethrone the defending continental champion and produced a strong display to win a close opening game 22-20.

However, his Chinese opponent hit back immediately to triumph 21-15 in the second game to force the match into a decider.

Lee, though, dominated the remainder of the contest to claim the final game 21-4 to advance to the gold medal contest.

The Malaysian will now face the challenge of China’s Chen Long, after the top seed defeated his compatriot Tian Houwei 21-14, 21-16 in his semi-final.

China are assured of gold in the women’s singles event after Olympic champion and top seed Li Xuerui defeated South Korea's Sung Ji-hyun 22-20, 21-11.

She will now take on her team-mate Wang Yihan, who clinched a 21-16, 21-14 win over India’s Saina Nehwal in their clash.

Denmark's defending men's champion Jan Ø. Jørgensen continued his fine run at the European Championships in La Roche sur Yon in France.

The top seed comfortably saw off the challenge of Rajiv Ouseph, as he sealed a straightforward 21-11, 21-16 win over the English player in a rematch of the 2014 final.

Jørgensen will face his compatriot Viktor Axelsen, who claimed a 21-10, 23-21 win over Germany’s Marc Zwiebler.

Defending champion Carolina Marín of Spain moved into the women’s final after beating Denmark's Line Kjærsfeldt 23-21, 21-15.

The Spaniard will take on the second seed Kirsty Gilmour, with the Scot having sealed a 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 win against Denmark’s Anna Thea Madsen.

The finals of both the Asian and European Championships are scheduled to take place tomorrow.