Lin Dan

Who Is Lin Dan?

Lin Dan is a Chinese badminton player. He is known for his skill on the court. Fans love his calm style and quick moves. He has brought joy to many people who watch badminton.

He is a former professional athlete. After many years of competition he became a legend in his sport. He still inspires young players today. His name is spoken with respect and a smile.

Early Life and Background

He was born on October 14 1983.

Career and Claim to Fame

His official website is https slash slash en.wikipedia.org slash wiki slash Lin-Dan.

Birthday, Age and Zodiac

Lin Dan was born on October 14 1983. He is forty three years old. His zodiac sign is Libra. Libra people are known for balance and fairness. They like peace and harmony. They often try to keep things even and calm.

Fun Facts and Legacy

Lin Dan is a Chinese badminton player born in 1983. He has a website at https slash slash en.wikipedia.org slash wiki slash Lin-Dan. He is forty three years old and his sign is Libra. Libra signs are balanced and fair. Fans remember his skill and his gentle spirit.

Lin Dan - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Lin Dan

Lin Dan (Chinese: 林丹; born 14 October 1983) is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, five-time World Championships gold medalist, two-time World Cup champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, four-time Asian Champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. He led China to victory 5 times at the Sudirman Cup, 6 times at the Thomas Cup, and 3 times at the Asian Games men's team event.

This profile of Lin Dan covers Early Life and Family Background, Junior events, 2001–2003: Senior debut and Four tour titles, 2004: World #1, All England and Thomas Cup champions and 2005: Sudirman and World Cup success.

Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time, by the age of 28 Lin had completed the "Super Grand Slam", having won the full set of all nine major titles in the badminton world of his time: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Year-end Finals, Asian Games, and Asian Championships, becoming the third player to achieve this feat after Ge Fei and Gu Jun, and the only male player to ever achieve this feat. Of the 9 major events, he had won at least 2 of each events except the Year-end Finals where he won once in his only time participating in that event. He also became the first men's singles player to retain the Olympic gold medal by winning in 2008 and successfully defending his title in 2012.

Lin was dubbed "Super Dan" by opponent Peter Gade after winning the 2004 All England Open final, and the nickname has since been widely used by his fans as well as the media to refer to him, in recognition of his achievements. He was inducted to BWF Badminton Hall of Fame on 26 May 2023.

Early Life and Family Background of Lin Dan

Lin was born in Fujian, China. At a young age, Lin was encouraged to learn to play the piano by his parents, and to be a pianist. But he chose to play badminton instead. Having started his training at the age of five, he was scouted by the People's Liberation Army Sports Team after winning the National Junior Championships aged twelve, and was enlisted into the Chinese National Badminton Team in 2001, when he was 18.

Junior events of Lin Dan

Lin emerged as a winner in the 2000 Asian Junior Championships in both the team and the singles events. He was also a member of the winning Chinese team and a boys' singles semi-finalist in the 2000 World Junior Championships.

2001–2003: Senior debut and Four tour titles

2001 marked the start of then 18-year-old Lin's professional career. In his first final, at the Asian Championships, he was thrashed by compatriot Xia Xuanze. He then entered his first final in the IBF Grand Prix event at the Denmark Open, losing to Bao Chunlai.

In 2002, Lin took his first title at the Korea Open. He was a member of China's 2002 Thomas Cup squad which defeated Sweden (5–0), Denmark (3–2), and South Korea (4–1) to reach the semi-finals. But Lin didn't play in the semi-final tie against Malaysia, which saw China's team tumble to a 1–3 defeat. Lin participated in another four tournaments without coming close to victory. He was knocked out in the first round of the Singapore, and Indonesia Opens, second round of the Denmark Open, and third round of the China Open. In October, Lin was defeated in the semi-finals of the Asian Games team competition which ended China's hope of a team gold medal.

Lin started the 2003 season with a third round defeat in the All England Open. He reached a final later in the year at the Japan Open but was beaten by his compatriot Xia Xuanze once again. Lin then made his debut in the World Championships in Birmingham, England. He breezed past Per-Henrik Croona and Przemysław Wacha in the first two rounds, but was beaten by Xia again in his third round match. After the world meet, he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Singapore Open, third round of the Indonesia Open, and second round of the Malaysia Open. But Lin ended the season strongly by capturing the Denmark, Hong Kong, and China Opens, and finishing runner-up at the German Open.

2004: World #1, All England and Thomas Cup champions

Lin had a good start to 2004, earning the BWF's number one world ranking for the first time in February. He helped China win the qualifying round of Thomas Cup and then captured the Swiss Open. He won his first ever All England Open title by beating Peter Gade in the final. He reached the semi-final of the Japan Open before going off to Jakarta, Indonesia in May for the Thomas Cup campaign.

In Thomas Cup, Lin helped China to an excellent start in which they thrashed United States and defending champion Indonesia 5–0 respectively to enter the quarter-finals. Lin then defeated Shoji Sato and Lee Hyun-il in quarter and semi-finals ties against Japan and South Korea respectively, each ending in 3–0 wins for China. In the final, he beat Peter Gade in straight games to give China the lead before the Chinese team eventually won three matches to one. China thus took the crown, ending a 14 years drought in the tournament.

Lin suffered setbacks later in the 2004 season when he was ousted in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open, and was reported to have a leg injury in mid-July, prior to the Olympic Games. Lin "crashed" in his first Olympic Games when, as the first seed, he was ousted early by Singapore's Ronald Susilo, who claimed Lin was "too eager to win". But Lin bounced back with three titles at the Denmark, German, and China Opens, and ended the season as a semi-finalist at the Indonesia Open.

2005: Sudirman and World Cup success

Lin retained his number one world ranking during 2005, winning his second German and Hong Kong Open titles, as well as the Japan Open, China Masters, and World Cup tournaments. He also helped China recapture the Sudirman Cup (combined men's and women's team championship) when it shut-out both defending champion South Korea in the semi-finals and Indonesia in the final.

Lin failed to retain his All England title, losing a three set final to teammate Chen Hong, and he was beaten in the final of the Malaysia Open by another rising star, Lee Chong Wei. In his bid to capture his first BWF World title at Anaheim California, he beat Kennevic Asuncion, Shoji Sato, Lee Hyun-il, and Peter Gade in succession to reach the final. There he was decisively beaten by a peak-form Taufik Hidayat. Lin was also eliminated in the semi-finals of the Singapore Open and the quarter-finals of the China Open.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Dan), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.