CHINESE BADMINTON STAR LIN DAN CALLS IT A DAY

NEWDELHI:A year ago, Lin Dan had dismissed reports he planned to retire following a series of first round losses. The Chinese badminton legend was determined to play in his fifth Olympics despite a drop in performance as injuries took a toll on his ageing body.

With the Tokyo Games delayed by a year, Lin Dan realised it would be too much to ask of his 36-year-old body, becoming the latest retirement—and probably the biggest—caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “Every forceful jump was a desire for victory. (But) my physical abilities and pain no longer allow me to fight alongside my teammates,” Lin Dan wrote on social networking site Weibo.

Hailed as the greatest and most complete shuttler ever, the lefthanded player announced his retirement on Saturday, calling time on an illustrious career that saw the Chinese win every major championship in badminton— the only player to do so. He won two Olympics, five world championships, two World Cups (an event not played now) and two Asian Games singles titles and was part of victorious Chinese teams in 5 Sudirman Cups and six Thomas Cups.

“‘Persevere’ I said to myself in every moment of suffering so that my sporting career could be prolonged. Rather than simply pursuing rankings as I did when I was younger, in these years, I have been wanting to challenge the physical limits of an old athlete and practise the sporting spirit that I will never give up,” he said. “From 2000 to 2020, after 20 years, I have to say goodbye to the national team. It is very difficult to speak it out.”

Lin Dan is the only badminton player to retain the Olympic title, which he did at 2012 London, and set benchmarks that will be difficult to match. He also won six All England crowns, three team titles to go with the two singles titles at the Asian Games, in addition to 666 international singles wins. These accolades earned him the sobriquet ‘Super Dan’ from great

Danish contemporary Peter Gade. A long time world No.1, Lin Dan also carried with him a ‘bad boy’ image, especially in his younger days. Having joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which he left in 2015, he was barred from many activities. But he broke those rules by getting many tattoos, which included religious symbols, doing numerous commercials, launching his own underwear brand and endorsing it. It earned him an aura that was rare among Chinese sports personalities, especially coming from a military background. Challenging established orders while exhibiting brilliant skills and the ability to overpower any opponent made him an icon in China, which produces many great athletes.

Lin Dan ends his career just over a year after the retirement of Malaysian former world No.1, Lee Chong Wei, his great rival for more than a decade. Lee lost to Lin in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic finals. He ended his career last year, after undergoing treatment for nose cancer.