Lin Dan won gold at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games and will not compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to next summer because of the global pandemic.
Just over a year after the retirement of his great rival and friend, the Malaysian star Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan drew curtains to his glorious career filled with loads of success.
Lin Dan – Lee Chong Wei dominance
The duo reigned over the sport for more than a decade and have only give away that hold in recent years as they grew old and their powers waned.
Lin, who had something of a “bad boy” reputation during his younger days and has several tattoos, ends with 666 singles wins and a loads of medals.
“My family, coaches, teammates and fans have accompanied me through many peaks and difficult troughs,” he said in a post on China’s Twitter-like Weibo that quickly went viral.
Lee called Lin “my greatest opponent”
“Please believe that the laughter, tears and all the promises are unforgettable diary entries,” Lee wrote on Weibo.
“Proud of you,” he added.
Along the double Olympic golds, Lin was also a five-time world champion and a longtime former world number one.
He earned the nickname “Super Dan” at the peak of his career.
However, the left-hander’s career has tailed off in recent years as age and injuries took their toll.
Time to say good bye
“After 20 years, I have to say goodbye to the national team,” the two-time Olympic gold medallist said on Weibo.
According to the Chinese Badminton Association, Lin submitted a formal retirement application a few days ago.
Given Lin’s personal preference and his current situation, the Chinese badminton national team accepted his retirement.
Lin Dan said his body would not allow him to move on in the unlikely pursuit of a third Olympic gold.
“‘Persevere’, I said to myself in every moment of suffering, so that my sporting career could be prolonged,” he wrote on Weibo.
“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.
“(But) my physical abilities and pain no longer allow me to fight alongside my teammates,” Lin Dan added.
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