Rivals Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan wary of fresh on-court threats
They may have remained fierce rivals on the court, engaging in several battles, but Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei and China’s Lin Dan set a strong example of how two greats of a sport should maintain camaraderie. “Lin Dan and I started in Asian juniors. I always respect him, and this is also good for badminton. Everybody wants to see me and Lin Dan (play) and he is also my big enemy.
“Today, we are doing the Badminton Vision (Legends Vision World Tour); we want to promote the sport. Everybody knows Lin Dan is a key player in our sport,” said the former world No 1 in Mumbai on Saturday.
Lee, 35, was close to retirement a few months back while Lin Dan (34) isn’t getting any younger. But there is still some fight left in the two champions and they know the journey ahead will be tough. “A lot of youngsters are coming
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through in men’s singles. For me and Lin Dan it will be tough to win titles. For us, it has always been a big fight. We are always enemies, but outside the court we are friends,” Lee said.
ASIA THE POWERHOUSE
Former Danish world No 1 Peter Gade said Asia remains the badminton powerhouse despite China losing its intimidating factor. “I still see the power centre as Asia.
“Now maybe we have more countries taking part from Asia and Europe, we’ve seen Carolina Marin from Spain and a few others. I have been working with the French team, trying to produce players. A few things are happening, but I still see the power centre is in Asia,” Peter Gade said.