Lin Dan’s defeat in the world championship final has prompted fresh conjecture that the Chinese superstar could soon call time on his brilliant badminton career.
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The 33-year-old “Super Dan” said after losing Sunday’s showdown to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in Glasgow that he would immediately return for China’s National Games and then play at next month’s Japan Open.
“After that I have no plans,” said Lin, indicating he might soon call it a day. “It will be difficult to play in the World Championships at 34.”
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 “showed that I am still strong enough physically”.
Lin Dan stand on the podium with his silver medal after defeat by Denmark’s Axelsen. Photo: AFP
Lin was the bad boy of Chinese sport in his younger days, with a rap sheet that included hitting a coach. And he has hinted at retirement before, only to plough on.
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Lin proved his enduring quality in Scotland by beating South Korea’s world number one Son Wan-Ho in the semi-finals, before going down to the 23-year-old Axelsen in what felt like a changing of the guard.
