On the afternoon of September 9, Lin Dan received a [peace-reporting] call from Xie Xingfang in Beijing while he was in Suzhou. During this time, they had missed celebrating New Year's Day and Spring Festival together, which seemed to be the first time. Due to the time difference, they could mostly only contact via WeChat.
Even their [12·13] wedding anniversary couldn't be celebrated together because Lin Dan was participating in the BWF Finals. Around that time, a string of five stars appeared on the forearm of his left hand. [The five stars represent the grand slam. You can see it from our competition uniforms; some people have one star or two stars on their chest, currently my five stars are complete. I think, when I retire someday, it will still accompany me.] This was a special motivation Lin Dan gave himself before the decisive battle in London. It is printed on his left hand holding the racket, guarding every expedition and fight of his. The process of getting a tattoo inevitably causes pain, but compared to his eleven-year career as a national team member, it doesn't count for much.
On August 5, six months later, the men's singles final of the London Olympic Games badminton [http://www.benqv.com/] will take place at Wembley Arena [King's Battle]. No one in the world of badminton has been able to win back-to-back Olympic men's singles titles, and Lin Dan is widely expected to achieve this feat. This is a mission unlike four years ago.
Representing China, more representing badminton sport
Oriental Sports: A week ago, you attended the award ceremony in London as a candidate for the World Laureus Best Male Athlete. As the only Chinese face, what were your gains from this trip?
Lin Dan: When I walked the red carpet, I heard someone shouting far away [Dan Ge, Dan Ge], and I saw the photographer from the Badminton World Federation waving at me. So, in fact, those who were truly interested in my arrival were still from the badminton community and the Chinese media stationed in London.
Before going to the Laureus, I told myself that I not only represented China, but also represented the sport of badminton.
In London, I had a profound realization that every year, we in Chinese sports produce so many new world champions, not just in badminton. But truly influential ones, or those that align with the theme of Laureus [Sports Changing the World], or even changing lives, many haven't reached that level yet.
The main reason is first to look at whether the sport itself possesses great charm, and whether it makes people all over the world like it. With such a platform, you can showcase your personal charm. Otherwise, I think, it would be very limited.
Badminton is the fastest sport in the world
Oriental Sports: Novak Djokovic eventually won the title of Best Male Athlete of the Year. What was your impression of him there?
Lin Dan: Novak looks very thin and tall. I know he is very young, only 24 years old, but he already gives an impression of maturity.
At the award ceremony, the short film on-site first mentioned Usain Bolt as the fastest man on earth, then talked about how fast F1 is, and how fast Djokovic can hit a tennis ball. I wanted to stand up and say, no, you're wrong.
Badminton is actually the fastest sport in the world. It requires very high speed, endurance, and explosive power. Malaysia's Chen Wen Hong once achieved a speed of 421 km/h, and to my knowledge, he has a Guinness World Record certificate in his possession. (In September 2009, Malaysia's famous doubles player Chen Wen Hong set a record of 421 km/h in smashing, breaking the 2005 record of 332 km/h set by China's famous doubles player Fu Haifeng.)
I won 6 championships of the BWF last year, including the World Championships. Being outstanding in your field, especially in men's singles, is already very remarkable. But no one cares about badminton. When you go there, you realize what a truly international sport is.
Therefore, every year in the world of badminton, China takes home many championships, followed by South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Denmark, which has become a phenomenon over the past few decades. But I feel that if this sport does not reach international standards, it will always remain something people play among themselves, self-entertainment, and the future path will be very narrow and not receive much attention.
I hope that one day, regardless of gender, a badminton athlete will be nominated or even win at the Laureus Awards.
Champion, important but not the only
Oriental Sports: Talking about the Olympics, inevitably many people will focus on your defense, as no one has accomplished such a feat. You previously said you wanted to play until you were 35, but why do the media now say London will be your last Olympics?
Lin Dan: For me, winning or not winning a championship is important but not the only thing. Especially after coming back this time, sometimes I feel that being entangled in what competitions need to win championships, or how many championships need to be won, is really too foolish.
I never said I would retire after London. I cannot make big promises. London might not be, or might be. But whatever happens, it is always the most important thing right in front of you, and you need to do it until the Olympics start in late July. Do your training and daily life well each day.
I am lucky to be born in such an era with such good opportunities. But everyone's innate task is different. Some people aim to win world championships, and they finally do. But for me, it might not be enough. There are still many things I need to do.
Physical fitness reserve, Super Dan's preferred topic in the Year of the Dragon
Before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese team invited renowned coach Tang Xianhu out of retirement, forming an expert group to strengthen scientific research during preparations. Among them, the analysis of the main opponents in men's and women's singles was handled by Professor Dai Jinbiao from Shanghai University of Sport. Since then, at least three months each year, Dai Jinbiao would go to the training site to assist the Chinese team in preparation. Accompanying Lin Dan all the way to the "Grand Slam", Dai Jinbiao stated: [The current Lin Dan truly understands badminton.] In 2012, Lin Dan must first do a good job of reserving physical fitness and adjusting his physical condition.
The tactics of the Chinese men's singles or Lin Dan can be called the "core secret" of the Chinese team. Behind this, there is a powerful advisory group. At the beginning of the year in the finals of the Korean top-level tournament, Lee Chong Wei achieved his first reversal against Lin Dan in his career, referred to by the latter as a "bloody lesson". When helping Lin Dan analyze, Dai Jinbiao pointed out: [Lee Chong Wei is the fastest responder in the world in terms of variable-speed attacks. However, now, Lee Chong Wei has clearly increased the frequency of drop shots and high clears, along with improved flat drives and defensive abilities, making him more comprehensive.] Lin Dan also admitted that due to the slower ball speed in Korea, he noticed that Lee Chong Wei pushed the shuttlecock to the backcourt more than before.
After the Beijing Olympics, Lin Dan's signature powerful smash was rarely seen anymore. Some people thought Lin Dan had abandoned his trump card and lost some of his on-court dominance. After hearing this, Dai Jinbiao laughed and said: [Full-on attacks are actually counterproductive, leaving larger openings for the opponent. Badminton ultimately boils down to 'difficulty'. I've always told Lin Dan, whether or not you can kill the shuttle is up to the opponent, but how difficult it is depends on yourself. At a certain level, badminton is about continuously increasing difficulty, accumulating advantages that force the opponent to make mistakes and create opportunities, without affecting oneself. This is the most reasonable form of badminton.]
Lin Dan, who is over 28 years old, still has the best physical fitness on the Chinese team. During a shuttle run training session, he consecutively won five rounds against younger teammates like Lü Yi and Chen Long. [I have never seen a player who values and counts training as much as Lin Dan does. His training quality is extremely high, treating every ball as a match, which is his greatest advantage. We often say, focusing on efficiency in training and letting things flow naturally in competition, Lin Dan is the best at doing this.] Dai Jinbiao said, [Last season, frequent matches caused heavy consumption for all the top players, leading to general physical fatigue. Lee Chong Wei is no exception. It's evident that in the finals, limits appear, and maintaining speed is insufficient. Lin Dan is the same, which needs to be resolved through accumulated training in the next few months.]
Mr. Versatile - Fashion and Fitness Without Interruption
Beijing—Paris—London—Shanghai—Suzhou—Shanghai—Beijing. This was Lin Dan's itinerary from February 4th to 9th. Accumulated nearly 28 hours of flight time and 3 hours of car travel.
He was at times an international sports superstar in Westminster Central Hall, at times a social activist receiving an audience with the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, at times a highly versatile advertising star with ever-changing styles, but ultimately, he still prefers himself as the one who steals moments to run in the gym amidst his busy schedule.
At 8:30 AM on the morning of August 8, the plane landed on the runway of Pudong International Airport. Ending his Laureus journey, Lin Dan temporarily passed through Shanghai, where a single advertising contract awaited him. The exterior location was selected in the south, originally thinking it could avoid the long winter in the north, but unexpectedly, Shanghai was also experiencing a cold snap at this time. The day before, dressed in a suit walking through the snow-covered streets of London, Lin Dan had already endured the first round of low temperatures. Stepping out of the airport, Lin Dan instinctively tightened his national team down jacket. The constant time differences made him feel unsure of where he was. He fell asleep immediately upon arriving at the hotel.
[Wow... slept until 2 PM.] In Lin Dan's view, this was already quite excessive. The first thing he did after waking up was to head straight to the hotel gym and run for half an hour. [In five days, 12 hours of training was wasted. The sense of playing badminton indeed requires time to accumulate. Only in the next two weeks before the competition can I find ways to catch up.]
Xintiandi is a place Lin Dan must visit every time he comes to Shanghai. Originally planning to eat, he didn't expect the cold in Shanghai to be so bone-chilling. This forced him to dive into a trendy brand store and buy another down jacket for himself. The next day's itinerary was scheduled to depart at 5:30 AM, heading to Suzhou to shoot exterior scenes. Before sunrise, Lin Dan had already completed his makeup and styling. This time, he had no choice but to wear light clothing again. Warm packs as cold-resistant equipment were completely ineffective. As soon as the director shouted [Pass], Lin Dan rushed straight to the heater, taking a long time to recover. By the time the production crew returned to the photography studio in Songjiang, Shanghai, the sky had completely darkened. That day, Lin Dan hardly ate anything. He worried that he had to keep up with the progress and catch the 9 PM flight back to Beijing.
Starving, freezing, sleepless, and playing multiple roles, this phase finally came to an end. Returning to his home in Beijing, it was already midnight on the 10th. That day was the annual listing day of world champions of the Chinese Badminton Team. Before the ceremony, Lin Dan arranged for himself a one-and-a-half-hour strength training session.
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