https://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2020-07-24/doc-iivhuipn4880461.shtml (continued from post #12280) Perception In the TV program broadcast last Saturday, Lin Dan and Zhang Jike held differing views of a selected young participant, which became the focal point of that program episode. When the teenager chose the strongest opponent to PK (duel) and lost, Zhang Jike thinks, " It must be very difficult for you to choose such a strong opponent. In competitive sports, the most important thing is to win, not to lose the chance to advance just for a moment of impulse." But Lin Dan put aside the outcome, supporting the 'willful" decision of the youth, " if youth don't act on impulse, then when's the time to do so. You can beat me in a contest, but no matter how many times you beat me, I want to beat you just once, otherwise it's not a contest." On July 23rd, when returning to the topic again, Lin Dan explained his opinion to Sina Sports, " All hot-blooded teenagers, they certainly want to challenge the best, beating someone a bit weaker than you, that in fact you have nothing to brag about. But there's no shame in losing to the strongest opponent." However, he did not see himself as on the opposing side of Zhang Jike nor did he refute Zhang's views, " I don't think he's wrong. The aim in competitive sports is to win. But the strategy in such a situation where the two players are more or less equal and still there's a clear gap in standard, yet without doubt he wants to challenge the best, then it's no shame that he lost, for he has learned a lot from it." He went on to add to his viewpoint," If his strength is among the top three, he would certainly have made a more reasonable choice, but as it is they know there true form. Moreover, he is only 22, 23 years old, what for care so much about winning and losing, he has lots of things to do in future." Having bade farewell to his familiar stage, Lin Dan no longer sees only "victory" and "defeat", the sight of these complacent youths evoke in him their " fiery" state. Over time, he will also become emotional. Compared to the winners who achieves qualification without any event worth noticing, he appreciates all the more the success of the underdog as an example. "Among the 33 teenagers, some indeed never had any professional physical training, but he kept on, which touched me very much. That's not to say those that won and stayed to the very end are not commendable, I instead thinks he's great, pretty good." (I'm skipping the next paragraph and the accompanying GIF file where he commented on a particular young participant) While watching that scene, his thoughts went back to a classic match of his career - the 2011 World Championship Final against Lee Chong Wei. " In fact for that tournament, I watched all his (LCW's) matches from the first round to the penultimate round, esp the semi-final against Chen Jin which he won by a clean 2-0. He was in excellent form at the time, leading me all the way in the final, not that I wasn't in fine form, but he was really in top form. I felt tremendous pressure inside, still during the match I didn't think too much about the game, only that I had to muster all I could to resist him." In that match, Lin Dan had the last laugh, the reason if one is to trace, he won due to his being "honest ' with himself in that " I dared to admit he was in better form than me, once I've come to terms with it, only then could I position myself well to attack him as I was able to display fully all the technical and tactical abilities ." The moment he stepped onto the court, Lin Dan put all the psychological fluctuations behind him and had no fear." The real fear is prior to the match, I'll be nervous just before the start of the match, once the match begins at love-all, my jitters are gone." (to be continued)
(continue from post #12283) https://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2020-07-24/doc-iivhuipn4880461.shtml Reality In his career, Lin Dan left us a very deep impression, apart from his numerous prestigious titles, but also his seemingly arrogant unyielding personality. Angrily flinging his racquet on court has also become one of his trademarks. He admitted his temper is not very good, " I'm particular about efficiency, if it requires only 10 minutes to do something and I take longer than that, I'll get very upset and be in a bad mood." Lin Dan recalled he flung the most racquets in 2008, " I threw down the racquet because I was not satisfied with my performance, I wanted to practice better and play better, if I didn't I would lose control of my emotions. As it's played on homeground at the Olympics, the pressure is quite big, and every day I wish I could be stronger." He divulged to Sina Sports that taking part in the recording of the variety show helped him in one way:" Recording this program has tempered my patience. One day I had to record until early morning,but it's no use worrying myself since everyone had to finish the recording together. As time goes by, my patience improves and I learned not to rush a lot of things. Although I pay much attention to efficiency, when it comes to taping, I try not to rush things and be patient." In the eyes of the coaches and teammates, Lin Dan is solid, three-dimensional. On the court, he is a perfectionist, off the court he is actually an easygoing person. Li Zhifeng, a chief coach with him for 10 years, told Sina Sports:" Lin Dan is loyal and friendly, he has many friends who are like younger brothers accompanying him all along and with whom he has always been generous." After listening to Sina Sports relating the stories, Lin Dan began to analyze himself, " I have a bad temper, not at all directed towards others, but at myself. I don't lose my temper because my opponent plays well, I just want to pull myself together and keep playing with him." How does he see himself in life? " I'm really two different persons on and off the court, I very much like to get together with people, eat, talk, joke around. In private, I'm rather humorous, no one really knows that." Despite being away from international competition and without the need for intense training, Lin Dan is still strict with his body management , exercising for one and a half to two hours every day. When he's not going to the gym, he likes to pay football with his friends. Accustomed to going solo in badminton playing singles, nevertheless, he prefers to cooperate with his teammates on the football field. Upon counting, his most "lonely" moments are on the badminton court, " I started playing badminton when I was five years old, at nine I left my parents to go to sports school. Even til now, I basically live a collective life, practically never go out to eat alone, go shopping alone, at most driving alone by myself, at the very least two persons. Having lived a collective life for so many years, I do enjoy the lively atmosphere." Sometimes, upon returning home to have a meal and barely into it, friends would suddenly pop in one after another , everybody gathered together and chatting, this is what Lin Dan enjoys. But at the moment, Lin Dan is also seeking a different state - to get out of his comfort zone. After retiring from the national team, Lin Dan spend part of his time playing badminton, which is his usual practice. But at the same time, he wants to make a breakthrough," I want to try something new, never tried before, as well as very challenging, so I can be motivated and fit." He wasn't looking for a happy-go-lucky state, on the contrary, " Actually it's easier to turn me on when I'm feeling insecure. If now I were to do badminton, as it's something familiar to me, I'd feel fine; however, if I'm asked to do something else, I'd wonder if I could do it well, I'd be worried, get nervous, and I'd be willing to spend more time preparing." (Finis)
I should think so, his wife , Xie Xingfang, hails from Guangzhou, Guangdong, and the couple has just set up a badminton club in Shenzhen. So I expect him to speak Cantonese, how well,I'm not sure.
One more thing to note, just imagine Lin Dan had retired earlier, say, in 2016 after Rio'16, not to mention a couple years earlier than that, I'm pretty sure his stats would be even more impressive,almost beyond comparison as his nearest rival(s) would be a distant second to him.
If any of the current stalwarts would watch this (I am sure they much have watched it), they would just be grateful to god, that they were just born (not playing) in this era. This actually shows how devastating Lin Dan was and how much hard work he did to be the GOAT. I can't even imagine anyone even close to his level, he was miles apart from everyone. Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
That defense against Taufik Hidayat and then the cross court smash will always be remembered, never seen such a brilliant play by anyone.
Still the match against Kenneth Johansson with the trick shot back to the same place is my favourite.