ChinaNews.net client, Beijing, July 4th (Reporter Wang Yu) July 4, an ordinary weekend.
Lin Dan, a famous Chinese badminton player, announced his retirement through a personal social media platform.
I personally fixed my career in the midsummer of 2020, and the 20-year national career stopped.
Lin Dan announced his retirement.
In just 462 words, Lin Dan’s endless career sparkles, and it is also difficult to trust him to leave the loneliness of the badminton world.
The greatness of Lin Dan lies in the tenacity of never giving in, the domineering standing on the peak, and the love, perseverance and never fail of him.
But now, Lin Dan keeps these together in the field, in the past, in people's memories.
In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Lin Dan passionately celebrated after winning the men's singles Olympic gold medal. Image source: Visual China
"The young man who came out of the small county town of Longyan, Fujian Province, just like you, is writing the future."
When he was a child, Lin Dan was often dressed up by his mother Gao Xiuyu as a girl. His first extracurricular activity was also a very literary keyboard. However, Lin Dan, who was active and unrestrained, finally chose badminton.
Unlike many people of the same age, Lin Dan left only sweat in the most naughty time of most children. At the age of 9, Lin Dan came to the Fujian Provincial Badminton Team alone. After that, Lin Dan accompanied the endless training and competition.
In 1995, Lin Dan won the national youth men's singles championship, and was immediately selected by the PLA. That year, Lin Dan was 12 years old.
From the youth sports school to the Fujian team, and then to the Liberation Army, Lin Dan will always be the best one on the team. All coaches like this player with super explosive and physical quality.
Lin Dan is in the game. Image source: Osports All Sports Pictures
Three years later, Lin Dan was raised to the national youth team, but his naughty personality and negative performance in the Asian Championships made him suffer, and Lin Dan was returned to the provincial team. A year later, Lin Dan killed the second national team again.
At that time, the national team had a tradition. Players who could not beat the first team could only live in the basement. After entering the first team, they could be arranged into the dormitory of the national team. For this reason, Lin Dan lived in the basement. This kind of day lasted two years.
In 2002, Lin Dan was out of the first round in the Thomas Cup and the subsequent open tournaments, and the nickname "Lin Yi Round" was called.
On August 22, 2002, Lin Dan topped the world for the first time. In the 2004 All-British Championship, Lin Dan defeated idol Peter Gate to win the championship, and the world rankings were further consolidated. It was also after that game that Lin Dan was called "Super Dan" by foreign media.
On August 11, 2013, in the 2013 Badminton World Championships men's singles finals, Lin Dan vs Li Zongwei, Super Dan won the championship with his wife Xie Xingfang after winning the championship. Image source: Osports All Sports Pictures
"After fighting for so many years on the field, I have long learned what it means to be insulted."
Before the Athens Olympics, 21-year-old Lin Dan was already the first in the world, and he was very popular. But what waited for Lin Dan was an ending that could not be worse. Excessive "ambition" made him completely lost in himself.
As the leader of the new generation of the Chinese national badminton team, Lin Dan's young Dezhi collapsed in Athens and was eliminated in the first round. Since then, the hero has fallen to the altar.
After the defeat in Athens, the "Olympics" became a difficult obstacle for Lin Dan.
After a while, Lin Dan realized that it didn’t matter what others thought of him. The real change was still on his own. "I just want to be myself. Some people say I am arrogant, but this is not my inner desire." With the help of the coach and family Lin Dan came out again and entered the preparation cycle for the Beijing Olympics.
On August 17, 2008, in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Badminton Men's Singles Finals, Lin Dan boarded the highest podium. Image source: ICphoto
In 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, 25-year-old Lin Dan reached the finals as expected. The opponent was Li Zongwei, who was later known as Super Dan's lifelong enemy.
However, this time Lin Dan did not give him any chance, 21:12, 21:8 won clean and neat.
When the last ball was over, Lin Dan knelt down on the ground and cried in tears. Four years of shame and hard work finally turned into an Olympic gold medal.
At that moment, Lin Dan achieved the most perfect redemption;
That ball was later called "God is playing in Lin Dan's jersey".
"My growth process is not so smooth, I think it is actually a good thing. When you overcome difficulties, it is a process of improving yourself, so I think it is also very good." After many years, Lin Dan realized the bitterness of it .
On July 4, 2020, badminton king Lin Dan officially announced his retirement news on his personal Weibo, ending the Chinese national team's badminton career. Image source: Osports All Sports Pictures
"I can't keep all the years, but the years keep me."
In the 2012 London Olympics, Lin Dan fought three innings in the final, defeating the old rival Malaysian Li Zongwei by 2:1. Lin Dan became the first athlete to defend the Olympic badminton men's singles event.
Since then, no one will doubt that the angular and determined-looking athlete in front of him has opened up a whole new era of badminton.
Lin Dan is not as good as Gade when it comes to fake movements; Lin Dan is not as good as Taufik when he is a gift alone; Lin Dan is not as good as Li Zongwei when he is a tough character.
In the "Four Heavenly Kings" where the gap in technology, pace, and overall strength is minimal, Lin Dan's achievements far exceed the sum of Gade, Taufik, and Li Zongwei.
Some people say that Lin Dan was born for the big scene!
The young boy Lin Dan is in the game. Image source: Osports All Sports Pictures
But when everyone thought that Lin Dan would succeed, he still chose to stick. Won the fifth World Championship in 2013; in 2016 became the unprecedented six-time champion of the All England Championship; in 2017, he won the National Games championship.
No one can challenge Lin Dan’s status, except for years, from a young boy with a high spirit to a veteran who scolds Fang Qi.
In 2018, 35-year-old Lin Dan still struggled on the field. Despite the late heroes, the dive saves more and more, the physical strength declines faster and faster, and the number of losses has increased, but Lin Dan still insists, He said that I will hit the 2020 Tokyo Olympics... .
This is Lin Dan, never admit defeat.
On May 15, 2005 local time, in the 2005 Sudirman Cup final, Lin Dan won the first Sudirman Cup trophy. Image source: ICphoto
"I'm not an alien in the badminton world with a steel body."
On Lin Dan, there are five well-known tattoos. The cross on the left arm is used to pay tribute to the grandmother who gave Lin Dan the most care and security;
The five stars in the left forearm represent the slam honor;
The "until the end of the world" on the right arm is the famous BGM that sounded with the inner monologue of Xiangbei defender Mitsui Shou in "Slam Dunk", "You now give up is the end of the game early";
There is a double letter "F" on the right forearm, which represents his wife Xie Xingfang's nickname "Fangfang". The abbreviation of his personal name "LD" is on the neck.
If we say competitive sports, it is a sport that requires faith.
So affection, love, longing for honor, and faith in the game, they all constitute the source of Lin Dan's inner conviction, and also give him the courage and strength to transform into "Super Dan".
In the 2012 London Olympics badminton men's singles final, Chinese player Lin Dan held a flag salute to celebrate the championship. Image source: Osports All Sports Pictures
But as Lin Dan said: "I am not an alien with a body of iron in the badminton world."
With the increase of age, after entering the Tokyo Olympics cycle, Lin Dan's athletic ability showed a downward trend, and his performance deteriorated. In particular, he encountered many challenges in the process of snatching Olympic points. The prospect of entering the Tokyo Olympics is not ideal.
But he still did not give up lightly, still working hard to achieve his goal of the fifth Olympic Games.
In each interview after losing, Lin Dan can't avoid being mentioned to retire, but he always believes that he will stand on the Tokyo Olympics.
Even if the defeat has become commonplace, it has not destroyed his dedication to his dreams.
However, after the Spring Festival this year, affected by the new crown epidemic, the world badminton world is still in a state of suspension, and the Tokyo Olympics has been delayed for one year, which undoubtedly cast a shadow on Lin Dan’s Olympic prospects.
After this year's All England Open, Lin Dan and the national team have been in closed training at Chengdu Shuangliu Base. With the passage of time, the World Badminton Federation's tournament restart plan has been changed repeatedly, plus his own injuries and so on, Lin Dan feels that it is more and more difficult to continue to persevere, and finally made a decision to retire.
The 2016 Rio Olympics Badminton Men's Singles semi-final was the last "Lin Li battle" of the Olympics, and the two old opponents were sympathetic. Image source: ICphoto
Looking back at the past, what happened is that the past has become a recollection, and only sighs are like a passing year.
From being side by side with Taufik, Gade, and Li Zongwei to become the four kings of the badminton world, to the "Lin-Li War" that has lasted for several years, although there are countless classic pictures flashing back in mind, it is difficult to copy, and now it can only be memorized. Helpless to leave the honor.
"I am 37 years old, and I no longer allow myself to fight side by side with my teammates. I have gratitude, perseverance, reluctance and frustration. In the days to come, I hope to spend more time with my family and will go Looking for a new'field'."
In June last year, Li Zongwei held a press conference and announced his retirement. Lin Dan, who was Li Zongwei's lifelong enemy, wrote on Weibo: "No one is with me when I play alone."
Today, Lin Dan also announced that he waved goodbye to the rivers and lakes of Yutan, and disappeared together. In addition to the legend of two people who have loved and killed each other for more than ten years, the golden age of the "four kings" of Yutan has always been inscribed in the history of the past with today's past. in.
Since then, no longer being compared, no longer dragged down by results and expectations, no longer tolerated by doubts and defamation, and finally can put down the racket and find a new direction.
Data Map: Lin Dan
Now Lin Dan turned around, leaving behind the unprecedented, even hard to come records:
Badminton men's singles gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2012 London Olympic Games;
2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 Badminton World Championships men's singles championship;
In 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2018, the main team of the Thomas Cup champion team;
In 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 Sudirman Cup championship team main force...
Today, we can only watch Lin Dan leave the glory in the past and wish him a more promising future...
Goodbye, Super Dan!