Father Time catches up with Lin
Print Edition
Lin Dan鈥檚 defeat in the world championships final has prompted fresh conjecture that the Chinese super star could soon call time on his brilliant career.
The 33-year-old 鈥淪uper Dan鈥 said after losing Sunday鈥檚 showdown to Denmark鈥檚 Viktor Axelsen in Glasgow that he would immediately return for China鈥檚 National Games and then play at next month鈥檚 Japan Open.
鈥淎fter that I have no plans,鈥 said Lin, indicating he might soon call it a day. 鈥淚t will be difficult to play in the world championships at 34.鈥
But the two-time Olympic and five-time world champion, regarded widely as the greatest singles player of all time, mixed his message by adding that reaching the final against a player 10 years younger 鈥渟howed that I am still strong enough physically鈥.
Lin was the bad boy of Chinese sport when young, with a rap sheet that included hitting a coach. And he has hinted at retirement before, only to plough on.
Lin proved his enduring quality in Scotland by beating South Korea鈥檚 world No. 1 Son Wan-ho in the semifinals, before going down to the 23-year-old Axelsen in what felt like a changing of the guard.
鈥淚t is unbelievable to beat Lin Dan, I have been watching him for years,鈥 said the Dane.
As he nears the end of his career, Lin has been cherry-picking his tournament appearances to help extend his time at the top, like 36-year-old Roger Federer who has enjoyed a resurgence this year to win two tennis grand slams.
Lin has fallen to seventh in the world rankings and fans on Weibo, where he has 3.75 million followers, said he lost the final to Old Father Time rather than his Danish opponent. 鈥淭he best players will always lose to time/age in the end. Even in defeat Lin Dan deserves to be honored and respected. You will always be Super Dan,鈥 said one.
But many badminton fans in China were more concerned with Lin鈥檚 love life which has made more headlines than his badminton in the past year.
The once sky-high popularity of the tattooed shuttler has never recovered fully despite Lin apologizing in November last year for an affair with a model while his wife and former badminton starlet Xie Xingfang was pregnant.
Observers said Lin showed his advancing years had slowed him in the defeat to world No. 3 Axelsen.
鈥淲e all hoped to see Super Dan continue his legacy, but objectively speaking there鈥檚 a 10-year age gap between the two players, think about the extra effort that has to be put in,鈥 commentator Tong Kexin said on television after the defeat.
Many people expected Lin to retire after last summer鈥檚 Rio Olympics, where he surrendered his title and lost the bronze-medal match to Axelsen.
But a reply Lin gave to Chinese media offers an insight into why he continues to defy expectations.
Asked in 2014 what he would say in a retirement speech if given only one minute, he answered: 鈥淚 would say 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to go鈥 and repeat it for 60 seconds.鈥
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