Super Dan makes it look easy
Quick victory for China’s double Olympic champ
GLASGOW — China’s Lin Dan — ‘Super Dan’ to his fans — opened his bid for a sixth title with a comfortable victory over Scotland’s Kieran Merrilees at the World Badminton Championships on Monday.
Lin needed just 39 minutes to win 21-15, 21-10 at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.
“I had never met him before this match so I watched videos of his two matches and found that he is a tough opponent,” said Lin, who won the world title in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013.
“It was not as easy as the score suggested,” added the seventh seed. “Everyone is trying to play his best game. My opponent was strong and fast today.”
Merrilees, ranked No 66 in the world, admitted he was overawed by playing one of the most successful players the sport has ever seen.
“I think what is the most difficult part is that I have grown up watching Lin Dan,” said Merrilees, 27.
“He has been the player I aspired to be. He has done everything and more in the sport — he is a legend. I think he felt sorry for me because it was so easy for him.
“My legs were like jelly at the start. I have been training so hard before these championships, but when I saw his name in the draw, I let it get to me.
“I was just lucky that he started messing around a bit at the start of the second set, which allowed me to get back into it.
“It was such a hard match, and I trained so hard for these
I think what is the most difficult part is that I have grown up watching Lin Dan.”
championships ... but when I saw the draw, my head went down.
“To be honest, the match is all a bit of a blur. But I am sure I will learn from it. I played against the name, and that was no good.”
Lin, 34, who won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, will next take on Emil Holst of Denmark, who defeated Sweden’s Felix Burestedtolst 21-13, 21-8.
China’s fourth seed, Shi Yuqi, fought off a tenacious challenge from Ireland’s Scott Evans before winning 23-22, 22-20.
The 21-year-old Shi looked nervous in his first world championships but steadied himself at the most crucial moments.
Top seed Son Wan-ho of South Korea didn’t have it easy against Finland’s determined Kalle Koljonen in their first rounder.
The 29-year-old trailed in the early stages of the first game — 3-5 and 5-7 — before eventually winning 21-14, 21-16 in 44 minutes.
“It was my first match and I know all the other players are keen to beat me,” said 29-yearold Son, who led South Korea to victory at this year’s Sudirman Cup in Jakarta.
“I was also needing a chance to get used to the venue. But now I am feeling good.
“This is a very important competition for me. It would be a dream come true to become world champion. But I need to work very hard over the next week.”
after losing to China’s two-time Olympic champ