Lin Dan

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lin (林).

Lin Dan
Personal information
Nickname(s) Super Dan[1]
Birth name 林丹
Date of birth October 14, 1983 (1983-10-14) (age 25)
Place of birth Flag of the People's Republic of China Longyan, Fujian province
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 72 kg (160 lb; 11.3 st)
Men Singles
Country China
Handedness Left
Highest Ranking 1 (February 26, 2004[2])
Current Ranking 2 (18th December 2008)
BWF Profile
Medal record
Competitor for China
Men's badminton
Olympic Games
Gold 2008 Beijing Men's Singles
World Championships
Gold 2007 Kuala Lumpur Men's Singles
Gold 2006 Madrid Men's Singles
Silver 2005 Anaheim Men's Singles

Lin Dan (simplified Chinese: 林丹; pinyin: Lin Dan) (born October 14, 1983) is a Chinese badminton player of Hakka ancestry, from Fujian, in the People's Republic of China. Lin Dan is currently the dominant singles badminton player on the world stage.

Career

Lin became one of the dominant players of men's singles, winning nine top tier international championships between 2002 and 2004. In a surprise loss, he was eliminated in the first round of the badminton men's singles in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. However, he has continued his dominance in international tournaments and has been continuously ranked number one in the world since early 2004, except for a very brief period of time in 2006 when Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia overtook him.

Among the tournaments Lin Dan have won are the All-England Open (2004, 2006, and 2007), the BWF World Championships (2006, 2007), and the Olympic Games (2008). He has helped China win three consecutive Thomas Cup (men's world team) championships in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and has also been a major contributor to Chinese teams which won the Sudirman Cup (combined men's and women's team championship) in 2005 and 2007.

[edit] 2004

By the beginning of 2004 Lin Dan was already world number one at age 20. He started off the year by winning his first All England title by beating Peter Gade of Denmark. He continued to shine as he won the Swiss Open and the Denmark Open by defeating his senior teammate and former world number one Xia Xuanze. He also went on to take the German Open and the China Open, beating his compatriot and good friend Bao Chunlai. In May, Lin Dan also played a major role in bringing the Thomas Cup back to China after a long domination by Indonesia.

[edit] 2005

In 2005, Lin Dan won his "warm-up" tournament for the All England, the German Open, after beating Malaysia's Muhammad Hafiz Hashim. However he lost his All England title to compatriot Chen Hong. In May of 2005, Lin Dan and his compatriots brought back the Sudirman Cup to China, where in 2003 they had lost to South Korea. In August, Lin Dan reached his first World Championship final in Anaheim, USA, but lost to the talented Indonesian, Taufik Hidayat. Even so, he managed to claim more titles at the China Masters and the Hong Kong Open.

[edit] 2006

Lin Dan started 2006 by recapturing the All England championship by overcoming Lee Hyun-il of South Korea. He carried on his reign as the world number one when he swept the Chinese Taipei Open, the Macau Open, Hong Kong Open and Japan Open. In September of 2006, Lin Dan won his first 2006 by beating fellow compatriot Bao Chunlai in a three game thriller 18-21, 21-17, 21-12. Subsequently, Lin Dan regained his world number one status which had been briefly occupied by Lee Chong Wei.

Earlier in May, Lin Dan and his teammates extended China's supremacy in the Thomas Cup event in Tokyo, Japan. Lin Dan beat Peter Gade in the first mens singles match in straight sets 21-17, 21-19 as China shut out Denmark 3-0 in the final.

[edit] 2007

Lin Dan entered 2007 with a loss at the Malaysia Open, losing to South Korea's Park Sung-hwan in the round of 16. The losing streak did not last long as a week later he captured the Korea Openafter defeating his fellow national player Chen Jin. He went on to win the German Open and then the All England championships again, crushing compatriot Chen Yu 21-13, 21-12. In June, Lin Dan was part of Team China in the Sudirman Cup, which was held in Glasgow, Scotland. The Chinese team brought home the cup after beating Indonesia 3-0 in the final. Later in the season Lin Dan ousted Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia and became the China's Master champion for 2007. In August, Lin Dan extended his reign as the world champion as he beat Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21-11 22-20. Lin Dan would become the first man since Yang Yang to win back to back world championships.

[edit] 2008

As every athlete looks forward to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Lin Dan, who was certainly qualified to play, did not begin the year on a strong note as he failed to win the Malaysian Open and Korean Open (he was a finalist in the latter). He lost his All England title to Chen Jin, but then went on to win the Swiss Open.

In the 2008 the Thomas Cup which was held in Jakarta, Lin Dan won every match he played except in the semi-finals where he lost to Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei. Even with his loss, China advanced to the finals. In the finals, Lin Dan earned a point for China as he returned from a first-set loss and overcame Park Sung-hwan of South Korea 10-21, 21-18, 21-8. China beat South Korea 3–1 and brought the cup back for the third consecutive time.

Lin Dan did not play in Singapore Open or the Indonesia Open, two tournaments that were ranked Super Series tournaments. This was due to his intensive training for the Olympic Games. He did however, play in the Thailand Open Grand Prix as a precursor to the Olympic Games. There, he defeated local favorite Boonsak Ponsana to take the title.

In the Olympic Games, Lin Dan, who was undoubtedly the local hero and heavy favourite began his gold medal hunt by subduing Hong Kong's Ng Wei 21-16, 21-13 in the round of 32. Next he saw off Park Sung-hwan 21-11, 21-8, and in the quarter finals, Lin Dan ended veteran Peter Gade's dream of ever winning an Olympic medal as he beat Gade in straight sets. He then faced Chinese youngster Chen Jin in the semi-finals and beat him in handily in two sets. This vaulted him into the finals where he was set to meet Lee Chong Wei. The dream match had finally come true as the world number one Lin Dan and world number two were set to battle it out for badminton's most prestigious title. It was supposed to be a tough match for both players, but Lin Dan grabbed the gold as he overwhelmed the Malaysian in a one-sided two-setter 21-12, 21-8. Lin Dan thus became the first men's singles player ever to win the All England title, two world championship titles, and the Olympic gold medal.

After a hiatus of almost four months, Lin Dan came back in November from a post-Olympic break and played in the China Open Super Series. He again met Lee Chong Wei in the finals and won by the scores of 21-18, 21-9 with the second set almost identical to their match in the Beijing Games. In late November he faced Chen Jin in the finals of the Hong Kong Super Series but lost 9-21, 21-9, 17-21.

Even though Lin Dan only competed in 5 Super Series events this year, he has enough points to qualify for the BWF Super Series Masters Finals being held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.[3]

The Chinese team did not send their players to play in BWF Super Series Final, so Lin Dan did not participate in BWF Super Series Final.

[edit] Personal life

Lin is one of the more popular and controversial badminton players active today, due to his flamboyant personality both on and off the court. He is known as a temperamental player, occasionally disrupting matches to protest line calls. He currently has a romantic relationship with fellow Chinese badminton player Xie Xingfang[4]. Lin was once an officer in the People's Liberation Army[5]. He has been nicknamed "Super Dan" by his adoring mainland fans.

[edit] Style and attributes

Lin Dan is a left handed player whose most defining characteristic is his ability to attack with fast smashes at steep angles. He combines quick movements around the court with the ability to maintain long aggressive rallies to win the majority of his matches. His well built physique helps him to produce powerful straight and cross court jump smashes that seem to come out of nowhere. This and his fast penetrating footwork makes him one of the toughest elite badminton players known. In terms of weaknesses he will sometimes make too many unforced errors at the net and lose mental focus at crucial moments of a game. Sometimes, he tends to be stiff and nervous when he plays in a high-pressured atmosphere, and this is when he tends to make most of his mistakes.

[edit] Titles
Rank Event Date Venue
Olympics
1 Singles 17th August 2008 Beijing, China
World Championships
1 Singles 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1 Singles 2006 Madrid, Spain
2 Singles 2005 Anaheim, California, USA
Asian Games
1 Team 2006 Doha, Qatar
2 Singles 2006 Doha, Qatar
3 Team 2002 Busan, Korea
Thomas & Uber Cup
1 Team 2008 Indonesia
1 Team 2006 Japan
1 Team 2004 Jakarta, INA
2 Team 2002 Guangzhou, CHN
World Grand Prix
1 Singles 2008 China Open Super Series
1 Singles 2008 Thailand Grand Prix Gold
1 Singles 2008 Wilson Swiss Super Series 2008
1 Singles 2007 Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open Super Series 2007
1 Singles 2007 Denmark Open Super Series
1 Singles 2007 China Masters Super Series
1 Singles 2007 Yonex All England Super Series
1 Singles 2007 Yonex German Open
1 Singles 2007 Yonex Korea Open Super Series
1 Singles 2006 Yonex Japan Open
1 Singles 2006 Hong Kong Open
1 Singles 2006 Macau Open
1 Singles 2006 Chinese Taipei Open
1 Singles 2006 Yonex All England Open
1 Singles 2005 Hong Kong Open
1 Singles 2005 China Masters
1 Singles 2005 Yonex Japan Open
1 Singles 2005 German Open
1 Singles 2004 China Open
1 Singles 2004 German Open
1 Singles 2004 Realkredit Denmark Open
1 Singles 2004 Yonex All England Open
1 Singles 2004 Swiss Open
1 Singles 2003 China Open
1 Singles 2003 Hong Kong Open
1 Singles 2003 Realkredit Denmark Open
1 Singles 2002 Noonnoppi Korea Open
2 Singles 2008 Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open Super Series 2008
2 Singles 2008 Yonex All England Super Series
2 Singles 2008 Yonex Korea Super Series 2008
2 Singles 2006 Proton Eon Malaysia Open
2 Singles 2005 Proton Eon Malaysia Open
2 Singles 2005 Yonex All England Open
2 Singles 2003 German Open
3 Singles 2006 China Open
3 Singles 2006 German Open
3 Singles 2006 China Masters
3 Singles 2005 Aviva Singapore Open
3 Singles 2004 Djarum Indonesia Open
3 Singles 2004 Yonex Japan Open
3 Singles 2002 All England Open

[edit] References

1. ^ Ramzy, Austin, 100 Olympic Athletes To Watch, Time, http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1819129_1819134_1825934,00.html, retrieved on 11 August 2008
2. ^ IBF Historical Ranking - MENS SINGLES
3. ^ http://www.internationalbadminton.org/news1.asp?pageid={C53ECDFA-B5A4-4B39-AC22-39CCC6E0660F}, Internationbadminton.org, 1 December 2008
4. ^ Yonex All England - Golden couple for a 10th time, BadZine.com, 12 March 2007
5. ^ Chinese stars a perfect couple in badminton, NewJersey.com, 17 August 2008

[edit] External links

* (Chinese) Lin Dan's Blog
* (Chinese) The Official LinDan Website
* (Chinese) The Official China Badminton Website

[hide]
v • d • e
Olympic Badminton Champions in Men's Singles

1992: Alan Budikusuma (INA) • 1996: Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen (DEN) • 2000: Ji Xinpeng (CHN) • 2004: Taufik Hidayat (INA) • 2008: Lin Dan (CHN)