Two-Time Olympic Badminton Champion Lin Dan Announces Retirement

Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time, China legend Lin Dan has announced he’s retiring from the sport saying his physical abilities no longer allow him to compete at the top level.

“My family, coaches, team-mates and fans have accompanied me through many peaks and difficult troughs,” he wrote on China’s social media platform Weibo. “Every forceful jump was a desire for victory. I have dedicated everything to this sport I love. ‘Persevere’, I said to myself in every moment of suffering, so that my sporting career could be prolonged,” he wrote on Weibo.

Nicknamed ‘Super Dan’, the superstar retires with an incredible 666 singles career wins and just 128 defeats.

During illustrious career, the 37-year-old won two Olympic singles gold and  was a five-time world championships winner as well.

By the time he had turned 28, Lin had completed the ‘Super Grand Slam’ – winning all major global titles including Olympic Games, World Championships, world cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asian Championships.

He’s the only male singles player to have defended Olympic title having won the yellow metal at Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Competing at the postponed Tokyo Olympics was very much part of his plans but with the quadrennial games shifted to next year due to the coroanvirus pandemic, his dream has ended.

Loss in form and injuries taking a toll on his body, Lin said it’s no longer possible for him to continue deliver at the top level. “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 team-mates,” he wrote.