Lin Dan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lin Dan 林丹
Lin in 2017
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Super Dan
Birth name	林丹
Born	(1983-10-14) 14 October 1983 (age 41) Longyan, Fujian, China
Height	178 cm
Weight	70 kg
Country	China
Years active	2000–2020
Handedness	Left
Men's singles
Highest Ranking	1 (26 February 2004)
Title(s)	66
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  China Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Men's singles Gold 2012 London Men's singles World Championships Gold 2006 Madrid Men's singles Gold 2007 Kuala Lumpur Men's singles Gold 2009 Hyderabad Men's singles Gold 2011 London Men's singles Gold 2013 Guangzhou Men's singles Silver 2005 Anaheim Men's singles Silver 2017 Glasgow Men's singles World Cup Gold 2005 Yiyang Men's singles Gold 2006 Yiyang Men's singles Sudirman Cup Gold 2005 Beijing Mixed team Gold 2007 Glasgow Mixed team Gold 2009 Guangzhou Mixed team Gold 2011 Qingdao Mixed team Gold 2015 Dongguan Mixed team Silver 2017 Gold Coast Mixed team Thomas Cup Gold 2004 Jakarta Men's team Gold 2006 Tokyo Men's team Gold 2008 Jakarta Men's team Gold 2010 Kuala Lumpur Men's team Gold 2012 Wuhan Men's team Gold 2018 Bangkok Men's team Bronze 2002 Guangzhou Men's team Bronze 2014 New Delhi Men's team Asian Games Gold 2006 Doha Men's team Gold 2010 Guangzhou Men's singles Gold 2010 Guangzhou Men's team Gold 2014 Incheon Men's singles Gold 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Men's team Silver 2006 Doha Men's singles Silver 2014 Incheon Men's team Bronze 2002 Busan Men's team Asian Championships Gold 2010 New Delhi Men's singles Gold 2011 Chengdu Men's singles Gold 2014 Gimcheon Men's singles Gold 2015 Wuhan Men's singles Silver 2001 Manila Men's singles Silver 2017 Wuhan Men's singles Bronze 2008 Johor Bahru Men's singles Bronze 2012 Qingdao Men's singles Bronze 2016 Wuhan Men's singles East Asian Games Gold 2009 Hong Kong Men's team Silver 2009 Hong Kong Men's singles World Junior Championships Gold 2000 Guangzhou Mixed team Bronze 2000 Guangzhou Boys' singles Asian Junior Championships Gold 2000 Kyoto Boys' singles Gold 2000 Kyoto Boys' team Bronze 1999 Yangon Boys' doubles

Lin Dan (Chinese: 林丹; born 14 October 1983) is a Chinese badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, five-time World champion, two-time World Cup champion, two-time Asian games gold medalist, four-time Asian Champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time, by the age of 28 Lin had completed the "Super Grand Slam", having won the full set of all nine major titles in the badminton world of his time: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Year-end Finals, Asian Games, and Asian Championships, becoming the third player to achieve this feat after Ge Fei and Gu Jun.

Of the 9 major events, he had won at least 2 of each events except the Year-end Finals where he won once in his only time participating in that event. He also became the first men's singles player to retain the Olympic gold medal by winning in 2008 and successfully defending his title in 2012.

Lin was dubbed "Super Dan" by opponent Peter Gade after winning the 2004 All England Open final, and the nickname has since been widely used by his fans as well as the media to refer to him, in recognition of his achievements. He was inducted to BWF Badminton Hall of Fame on 26 May 2023.

Early life

Lin was born in Fujian, China. At a young age, Lin was encouraged to learn to play the piano by his parents, and to be a pianist. However, he chose to play badminton instead. Having started his training at the age of five, he was scouted by the People's Liberation Army Sports Team after winning the National Junior Championships aged twelve, and was enlisted into the Chinese National Badminton Team in 2001, when he was 18.

Career

Junior events

Lin emerged as a winner in the 2000 Asian Junior Championships in both the team and the singles events. He was also a member of the winning Chinese team and a boys' singles semi-finalist in the 2000 World Junior Championships.

2001–2003: Senior debut and Four tour titles

2001 marked the start of then 18 year-old Lin's professional career. In his first final, at the Asian Championships, he was thrashed by compatriot Xia Xuanze. He then entered his first final in the IBF Grand Prix event at the Denmark Open, losing to Bao Chunlai.

In 2002, Lin took his first title at the Korea Open. He was a member of China's 2002 Thomas Cup squad which defeated Sweden (5–0), Denmark (3–2), and South Korea (4–1) to reach the semi-finals. However, Lin didn't play in the semi-final tie against Malaysia, which saw China's team tumble to a 1–3 defeat. Lin participated in another four tournaments without coming close to victory. He was knocked out in the first round of the Singapore, and Indonesia Opens, second round of the Denmark Open, and third round of the China Open. In October, Lin was defeated in the semi-finals of the Asian Games team competition which ended China's hope of a team gold medal.

Lin started the 2003 season with a third round defeat in the All England Open. He reached a final later in the year at the Japan Open but was beaten by his compatriot Xia Xuanze once again. Lin then made his inaugural debut in the World Championships in Birmingham, England. He breezed past Per-Henrik Croona and Przemysław Wacha in the first two rounds, but was beaten by Xia again in his third round match. After the world meet, he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Singapore Open, third round of the Indonesia Open, and second round of the Malaysia Open. However, Lin ended the season strongly by capturing the Denmark, Hong Kong, and China Opens, and finishing runner-up at the German Open.

2004: World #1, All England and Thomas Cup champions

Lin had a good start to 2004, earning the BWF's number one world ranking for the first time in February. He helped China win the qualifying round of Thomas Cup and then captured the Swiss Open. He won his first ever All England Open title by beating Peter Gade in the final. He reached the semi-final of the Japan Open before going off to Jakarta, Indonesia in May for the Thomas Cup campaign.

In Thomas Cup, Lin helped China to an excellent start in which they thrashed United States and defending champion Indonesia 5–0 respectively to enter the quarter-finals. Lin then defeated Shoji Sato and Lee Hyun-il in quarter and semi-finals ties against Japan and South Korea respectively, each ending in 3–0 wins for China. In the final, he beat Peter Gade in straight games to give China the lead before the Chinese team eventually won three matches to one. China thus took the crown, ending a 14 years drought in the tournament.

Lin suffered setbacks later in the 2004 season when he was ousted in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open, and was reported to have a leg injury in mid-July, prior to the Olympic Games. Lin "crashed" in his first Olympic Games when, as the first seed, he was ousted early by Singapore's Ronald Susilo, who claimed Lin was "too eager to win". However, Lin bounced back with three titles at the Denmark, German, and China Opens, and ended the season as a semi-finalist at the Indonesia Open.

2005: Sudirman and World Cup success

Lin retained his number one world ranking during 2005, winning his second German and Hong Kong Open titles, as well as the Japan Open, China Masters, and World Cup tournaments. He also helped China recapture the Sudirman Cup (combined men's and women's team championship) when it shut-out both defending champion South Korea in the semi-finals and Indonesia in the final.

Lin failed to retain his All England title, losing a three set final to teammate Chen Hong, and he was beaten in the final of the Malaysia Open by another rising star, Lee Chong Wei. In his bid to capture his first BWF World title at Anaheim California, he beat Kennevic Asuncion, Shoji Sato, Lee Hyun-il, and Peter Gade in succession to reach the final. There he was decisively beaten by a peak-form Taufik Hidayat. Lin was also eliminated in the semi-finals of the Singapore Open and the quarter-finals of the China Open.

2006: World Champion, Second All England and Thomas Cup triumph

Lin started the season by reaching the semi-finals of the German Open, and had a same result in China Masters and China Open. He failed to win the Malaysia Open in June, which saw his opponent Lee Chong Wei produce a superb display to save the title after being 13–20 down in the deciding game, and also lost to Taufik Hidayat in Asian Games final.

However, he won six individual titles in the season. He recaptured the All England Open, and won the Chinese Taipei, Macau, Hong Kong, and Japan Opens. Most significantly, in Madrid, Spain that September he won his first world title after beating his compatriot Bao Chunlai in the final.

In May, Lin and his teammates had extended China's Thomas Cup reign by shutting out Denmark 3–0 for a second consecutive title. In October, he won his second World Cup men's singles title.

2007: Consecutive World title, Third All England and Second Sudirman Cup

Lin Dan entered 2007 with a loss to South Korea's Park Sung-hwan in the round of 16 at the Malaysia Open. A week later, he captured the Korea Open by defeating Chinese teammate Chen Jin in the final. He went on to win the German Open and then the All England championships again, crushing compatriot Chen Yu 21–13, 21–12. In June, Lin Dan was part of the Chinese Sudirman Cup team that retained the cup after beating Indonesia 3–0 in the final at Glasgow, Scotland. Later in the season Lin defeated Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia and became the China Masters champion for 2007. In August, Lin extended his reign as the World Champion when he beat Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21–11, 22–20 in the final of the tournament held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Lin Dan thus became the first man since Yang Yang to win back to back World Championships. He then won his third Denmark Open title, and ended the year by claiming his fourth Hong Kong Open title.

2009: Third World and Sudirman Cup titles, Fourth All England

In March, at his first tournament appearance of 2009, Lin won his fourth All England title without dropping a game, defeating Lee Chong Wei in the final. After this dominant performance, he lost to Lee in the final of Swiss Open a week later.

In May, Lin participated in the Sudirman Cup helping China to consecutive 5–0 victories over England, Japan, and Indonesia. In the semi-finals against Malaysia Lin defeated Lee Chong Wei in straight games as China advanced to the final against South Korea with another shutout. In the last round the same form held true as Lin beat Park Sung-hwan thus helping China to secure the Cup for the third time in a row, and each time without dropping a match in the series.

During the rest of 2009, Lin dropped only two matches; in June in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open, and, perhaps most surprisingly, in the finals of December's East Asian Games in Hong Kong to South Korea's little known Choi Ho-jin. Aside from those upsets, Lin dominated. In August in Hyderabad he became the first player to win the World Championships three times by beating compatriot Chen Jin in the final. Later Lin would go on to win his fourth China Masters title and first French Open title. He ended his tournament winning streak in November with the China Open title, before the late-year upset loss in the East Asian Games in Hong Kong.

2010: Asiad gold, Fourth Thomas Cup and Asian champion

Lin Dan (CHN)

After starting the season disappointingly with quarterfinal losses at both the All England and Swiss Opens, Lin won his first title of the year at the Badminton Asia Championships in New Delhi, which also marked his first victory at this annual event.

Taking part in his fifth Thomas Cup campaign for China in May, Lin won a pair of hard-fought encounters with South Korea's Park Sung-hwan in the group ties and the quarter-finals respectively. In the semi-finals, he handily defeated Lee Chong Wei in contributing to China's 3–0 victory over Malaysia and a berth in the final against long time rival Indonesia. Here, Lin led off with a comfortable victory over familiar opponent Taufik Hidayat, as China went on to capture its eighth Men's World Team title; its fourth consecutively.

After the Thomas Cup triumph, Lin played in the World Championships in Paris, France. He won his opening match and then beat Henri Hurskainen and Bao Chunlai in the second and third rounds respectively before being upset by Park Sung-hwan in the quarter-finals. That day also saw his archrival Lee Chong Wei exit from the tournament which was eventually won by Lin's compatriot Chen Jin. Lin then bounced back to win the China Masters, but lost the final of the Japan Open to Lee Chong Wei the following week, and conceded walkovers in the quarter-finals of both the China Open, and Hong Kong Open late in the year.

However, Lin managed to win his first ever Asian Games gold medal in November by beating Lee Chong Wei in final, thus, at 27, becoming the first player to win all of the present major titles available to Asian men in badminton, both individual and national team. Lin was voted the most valuable player (MVP) at the games' closing ceremony.

2011: Fourth World and Sudirman Cup success, Second Asian and First Super Series Masters Finals titles

Lin Dan in 2011 German Open.

Lin began the year with a withdrawal in the Malaysia Open's quarter-finals, which marked his third consecutive withdrawal since late 2010. This action brought some criticism, particularly by well known fellow competitor Taufik Hidayat. The very next week Lin sprang back to win the first ever million dollar badminton tournament, Korea Open by beating Lee Chong Wei in the final. He next won the German Open, beating his compatriot and reigning world champion Chen Jin in the final.

At the prestigious All England Championships in March his hopes for a fifth title were put on hold when he was defeated by Lee Chong Wei in the final. However, in April he won his second Asian Championships on a day which saw China sweep all five titles and in May he helped China to a fourth consecutive Sudirman Cup title by defeating Denmark 3–0 in the final. In June, Lin's withdrawal from the Singapore Open final due to gastric flu drew jeers from fans in the stadium. Just few days later, he was upset by Sho Sasaki in the second round of Indonesia Open.

Healthy again in August, Lin won his fourth World Championship title by beating familiar rivals Peter Gade in the semi-finals and Lee Chong Wei in a very tight three game final at Wembley Arena, a venue which would host the badminton competition for 2012 Summer Olympics.

The rather up and down season for Lin continued with the China Masters in September where he was ousted in the semi-finals, and at the Japan Open where he withdrew from the semifinals. This was followed up by a shock exit in the second round of the Denmark Open to Hong Kong player Wong Wing Ki, and another withdrawal during the semifinals of French Open despite leading in the match. He told officials that he was suffering from paronychia (an infection below the fingernail). This was his sixth retirement of the season and many in the media imputed that this was part of a strategy to improve the rankings of other Chinese singles players to allow the maximum number to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Both Lin and Chinese coach Li Yongbo denied this, citing, instead, the heavy tournament schedule that BWF required of top players, and Lin's need to be ready for the biggest events such as the Olympics. In any case, Lin's slump did not last long. He ended the year by winning three straight events, His fifth Hong Kong Open, the China Open, and his first Super Series Masters Finals title.

2012: Second Olympic gold, Fifth All England and Thomas Cup

Lin Dan at the 2012 Olympics

Lin started the year by losing to Lee Chong Wei in the final of the Korea Open, and then losing in the second round of the Malaysia Open to Denmark's Jan O. Jorgensen. In early March, he took his first title of the season by winning his fifth German Open. The very next week, he won his fifth All England Open title as rival Lee Chong Wei was forced to retire in discomfort early in the second game of the final. In April, Lin was again the subject of some controversy when he withdrew from the semifinals of the Asian Championships, a move that was openly seen as a ploy to secure an Olympic berth for his compatriot Chen Jin.

In Wuhan, China in May, Lin Dan and his teammates won all of their individual matches in each tie they played to win their fifth consecutive Thomas Cup (remarkably China's women also went entirely undefeated to regain the Uber Cup from South Korea). With only a week between Thomas Cup and the Thailand Open in early June, a fatigued Lin lost in the semi-finals to Indonesia's highly capable Sony Dwi Kuncoro.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Lin routinely beat Ireland's Scott Evans to qualify for the main draw of sixteen players where he started by trouncing fading star Taufik Hidayat. In the quarter-finals, however, Japan's hard-fighting Sho Sasaki put Lin to the test before yielding 16–21 in the third game. Lin then handily beat South Korean veteran Lee Hyun-il in the semi-finals to set up yet another meeting with his chief rival Lee Chong Wei. Unlike the 2008 Olympic finals, this one was no cakewalk for Lin. He lost the first game to Lee but came back strongly to take the second. The rubber game was a thriller which saw Lin claw back from slight deficits most of the way to finally prevail 21–19 An ecstatic Lin thus became the first men's singles player to retain the Olympic title, while Lee, now almost 30, was once again foiled at one of the sport's two biggest events (aside from the Thomas and Uber Cups), the Olympics and the World Championships.

2013: Fifth World title

After his 2012 Olympic victory Lin did not make another tournament appearance until the Asian Championships, in April where, citing injury, he withdrew from the quarter-finals. Amid some speculation that he was planning to retire, Lin was granted a special wild card entry into the World Championships in Guangzhou, as, despite his great achievements, his recent inactivity had caused his world ranking to fall below that of other Chinese players who would then normally fill the maximum quota of three entrants that any one country was allowed. Without appearing in any tournament between the Badminton Asia Championships in April and the World Championships in August, Lin was able to convert this wildcard entry into his fifth world title. He won all of his matches in straight games until the final where, yet again, hard-luck Lee Chong Wei could not quite catch him in the third game rubber, and was forced to submit with a painful cramp down 17–20.

2014: Second Asiad gold and Third Asian title

After seven month tournament absence, Lin, down to 104th in the official world rankings, returned in April and took titles in the China Masters, and the Asian Championships in quick succession. Lin was part of China's Thomas Cup team which defended its title in May, but because of his deflated ranking could only play at third singles. Consequently, when China met a talented and highly motivated Japanese team in the semi-finals at New Delhi, Lin could only watch helplessly as Japan took the first two singles and a doubles to break China's ten year streak of men's world team titles. Beyond this disappointment, the BWF would not grant Lin a wild card entry into the 2014 World Championships, as they did in 2013. Thus Lin could not defend his title which was won by Chinese teammate Chen Long who defeated the unlucky Lee Chong Wei in a close two game final.

In June, Lin lost in the quarter-finals of Japan Open. Shortly afterwards, he won the Australian Open, his first Superseries title since the 2012 All England Open, and then won the Grand Prix title in the Chinese Taipei Open. In September, he successfully defended his men's singles title in the Incheon Asian Games and was also a part of the men's team winning the silver medal. In November, Lin lost in the final of the China Open to Srikanth Kidambi from India.

2015: Fourth Asian title and Fifth Sudirman Cup

Lin won the men's singles title at the Asian Championships in China, defending his title won the previous year in South Korea. He defeated compatriot Tian Houwei 21–19, 21–8 in a match that lasted 50 minutes in the central city of Wuhan. Lin Dan contributed to China winning its 10th Sudirman Cup by defeating Japan's Takuma Ueda 21–15, 21–13 in the final for his team's third and decisive point. His return to the World Championships in August, however, was not particularly auspicious as he was routinely eliminated by Denmark's Jan Ø. Jørgensen in the quarter-finals, as Lin's compatriot Chen Long again prevailed over Lee Chong Wei in the finals. Recovering from this disappointment, in September, Lin won his only Superseries title of the year at the Japan Open, making a remarkable comeback after trailing 3–11 in the deciding game of the final against Denmark's young star Viktor Axelsen. He then participated in the Rio Olympics test tournament the Brasil Open in the end of the year, won the title after beating Pablo Abián in the final.

2016: Sixth All England title

In March, Lin defeated Taiwan's Chou Tien-Chen in three hard games to clinch his seventh men's singles title at the German Open. A week after this win, Lin regained his All England title in Birmingham, giving him his 6th victory at this prestigious event. In impressive form, he beat compatriot Tian Houwei 21–9, 21–10 in the final.

In April, Lin Dan beat world No. 1 Chen Long in straight games to lift his sixth China Masters crown in Jiangsu, China. Here Lin showed his competitive mettle by coming from 11 to 16 behind in the second game to clinch the match 23–21. In June, however, he was stunned in second round of Indonesia Open by eighteen year old Jonatan Christie.

At the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, Lin sailed through his group round robin to qualify for the main draw. In the quarter-finals he was tested by India's Srikanth Kidambi, but pulled through 21–18 in the third game. This set up a sem-ifinals confrontation with long-time rival Lee Chong Wei which drew great fan interest as the players, both in their thirties, were assumed to be near retirement. In another epic match Lee was finally able to reverse past Olympic and World Championship losses to Lin and prevailed, 15–21, 21–11, 22–20. But Lee's quest for Olympic gold after two silver medals ended with a disappointing finale, as he was beaten in two close games by Lin's compatriot Chen Long. In the bronze medal match, Lin played Denmark's Viktor Axelsen. After taking the first set 21–15, the two-time Olympic champion lost the next two and the match with a scoreline of 21–15, 10–21, 17–21. After the Rio Olympics, he skipped all international tournaments for the remainder of the year.

2017: First Malaysia Open title

In March, at the prestigious All England Championships Lin defeated Viktor Axelson in the quarter-finals but was eliminated in the semi-finals by his countryman Shi Yuqi, more than twelve years Lin's Junior. However, he bounced back to win the Swiss Open by beating Shi Yuqi in the finals. In April, he won the Malaysia Open for the first time by defeating Lee Chong Wei, who had virtually owned this title for more than a decade. In the China Masters, he lost in the semi-finals to Qiao Bin, and in the Asian Championships, where he recorded a sem-ifinals win over Lee Chong Wei, he took a silver medal after losing to Chen Long in the final. Lin was beaten in the German and Indonesian Opens respectively in round of 16. He lost to Chen Long in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

At the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, at age 33, Lin managed to reach a record seventh men's singles final by beating Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki, 21–17, 21–18 in the quarter-finals and beating Korea's Son Wan-ho, 21–17, 21–14 in the semi-finals. But in the finals, he was beaten in straight sets by his ten years younger opponent, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, 22–20, 21–16.

2018: Sixth Thomas Cup

In March, the 34-year-old Lin tied Rudy Hartono's record of reaching ten All England men's singles finals, but was foiled in his try for a seventh title by his much younger compatriot, Shi Yuqi in three exhausting games, 19–21, 21–16, 9–21. In May, he won the New Zealand Open by beating talented Indonesian youngster Jonatan Christie in two close games, 21–14, 21–19. Later that month, Lin was a member of the Chinese team which regained the Thomas Cup after four years of absence, though his team was never extended to a deciding 5th match which would have required his services in the third singles position.

2019: Second Malaysia Open title

In his first tournament of 2019, Lin reached the final of the Thailand Masters, where he lost to the up-and-coming Loh Kean Yew in two tightly contested games, 19–21, 18–21. In April, at the age of 35, he won his second Malaysia Open title, beating higher ranked compatriot Shi Yuqi, and Chen Long, in the semi-finals and finals respectively. However, he withdrew from the Singapore Open during the first round against Viktor Axelsen, citing a "thigh injury", but only after being visibly upset by early line calls. In May, he lost in the semi-finals of the New Zealand Open to Ng Ka Long in two straight games. In November, he lost in the final of the Korea Masters to Kanta Tsuneyama in another straight games defeat.

2020: Pandemic shorten season

Lin begins the 2020 season poorly. In January, he was eliminated in the first round of the Malaysia Masters by Jan Ø. Jørgensen in two games, 19–21, 18–21. The following week, he participated in the Indonesia Masters and was defeated in the first round again, this time by Viktor Axelsen, who beat him in two relatively easy games, 12–21, 14–21. Lin then followed up with yet another first round exit at the Thailand Masters where he lost to Ng Ka Long. At the All England Open held in March, he reached the second round but was defeated by compatriot Chen Long. This turned out to be his last tournament as the rest of the world tour were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Retirement

On 4 July 2020, Lin announced his retirement, saying "at 37, pain and injuries no longer allow me to fight with my teammates. I have gratitude, a heavy heart and unwillingness." After his retirement, he joined Instagram to stay connected with his fans all over the world.

Rivalry with Lee Chong Wei

The Lee–Lin rivalry was a rivalry between two professional badminton players, Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan whose careers were almost exactly contemporaneous. The rivalry is often considered the greatest in the history of badminton even though Lin had the decided edge. Of their 40 meetings, Lin won the head-to-head by 28–12 but Lee Chong Wei was ranked World number one throughout both their careers consecutively for almost 10 years.

Personal life

Lin has been in a relationship with Xie Xingfang, herself a former world champion, since 2003. They were quietly engaged on 13 December 2010 in Haizhu, Guangzhou. Xie initially denied but later acknowledged romantic involvement with Lin, who reacted angrily at the public exposure of their relationship, citing reasons of personal privacy. The two were married on 23 September 2012 and the wedding ceremony was held at the Beijing University of Technology.

Lin had five tattoos visible during the 2012 Summer Olympics. His upper left arm has a Christian cross, his lower left arm has five stars, his right upper arm reads "until the end of world", a double "F" lettering on his lower right arm, and his initials "LD" are tattooed on the back of his neck. These tattoos have been the subject of controversy due to his military and religious status.

On 17 October 2012, he became the first active Chinese badminton player to accept a master's degree, which was presented at Huaqiao University. His autobiography, Until the End of the World, was published after he successfully defended his Olympic title at the London 2012 Olympics.

He and his wife Xie Xingfang had their first child "Xiao Yu" (Little feather) on 5 November 2016. On 17 November 2016, he admitted to an affair and apologised on Weibo. Social media users had purportedly identified the woman as actress and model Zhao Yaqi.

Honours and awards

Lin won the Eddie Choong Player of the Year award for two consecutive years in 2006 and 2007. He also secured the BWF Best Male Player of the Year in 2008. Lin was voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) during the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

On 16 January 2011, he was named China's best male athlete for 2010 in China Central Television's Sports Personality of the Year poll for his clean sweep in major badminton titles.

On 26 May 2023, Lin was inducted into the BWF's Hall of Fame along with long-time rival, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.

Achievements

Olympic Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2008	Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium, Beijing, China	Lee Chong Wei	21–12, 21–8	Gold
2012	Wembley Arena, London, United Kingdom	Lee Chong Wei	15–21, 21–10, 21–19	Gold

World Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2005	Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, United States	Taufik Hidayat	3–15, 7–15	Silver
2006	Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad, Madrid, Spain	Bao Chunlai	18–21, 21–17, 21–12	Gold
2007	Putra Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Sony Dwi Kuncoro	21–11, 22–20	Gold
2009	Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, India	Chen Jin	21–18, 21–16	Gold
2011	Wembley Arena, London, England	Lee Chong Wei	20–22, 21–14, 23–21	Gold
2013	Tianhe Sports Center, Guangzhou, China	Lee Chong Wei	16–21, 21–13, 20–17r	Gold
2017	Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland	Viktor Axelsen	20–22, 16–21	Silver

World Cup

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2005	Olympic Park, Yiyang, China	Boonsak Ponsana	21–14, 21–11	Gold
2006	Olympic Park, Yiyang, China	Chen Yu	21–19, 19–21, 21–17	Gold

Asian Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2006	Aspire Hall 3, Doha, Qatar	Taufik Hidayat	15–21, 20–22	Silver
2010	Tianhe Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China	Lee Chong Wei	21–13, 15–21, 21–10	Gold
2014	Gyeyang Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea	Chen Long	12–21, 21–16, 21–16	Gold

Asian Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2001	PhilSports Arena, Manila, Philippines	Xia Xuanze	10–15, 9–15	Silver
2008	Bandaraya Stadium, Johor Bahru, Malaysia	Chen Jin	13–21, 14–21	Bronze
2010	Siri Fort Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, India	Wang Zhengming	21–17, 21–15	Gold
2011	Sichuan Gymnasium, Chengdu, China	Bao Chunlai	21–19, 21–13	Gold
2014	Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea	Sho Sasaki	14–21, 21–9, 21–15	Gold
2015	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Tian Houwei	21–19, 21–8	Gold
2016	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Lee Chong Wei	20–22, 21–15, 4–21	Bronze
2017	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Chen Long	23–21, 11–21, 10–21	Silver

East Asian Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2009	Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Hong Kong	Choi Ho-jin	19–21, 18–21	Silver

World Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2000	Tianhe Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China	Bao Chunlai	4–7, 2–7, 7–0, 7–0, 1–7	Bronze

Asian Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2000	Nishiyama Park Gymnasium, Kyoto, Japan	Sony Dwi Kuncoro	15–12, 15–5	Gold

Boys' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
1999	National Indoor Stadium – 1, Yangon, Myanmar	Zheng Bo	Chen Yu Sang Yang	15–10, 3–15, 10–15	Bronze

BWF World Tour (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Level	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2018	All England Open	Super 1000	Shi Yuqi	19–21, 21–16, 9–21	Runner-up
2018	New Zealand Open	Super 300	Jonatan Christie	21–14, 21–19	Winner
2019	Thailand Masters	Super 300	Loh Kean Yew	19–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2019	Malaysia Open	Super 750	Chen Long	9–21, 21–17, 21–11	Winner
2019	Korea Masters	Super 300	Kanta Tsuneyama	22–24, 12–21	Runner-up

BWF Superseries (21 titles, 10 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2007	Korea Open	Chen Jin	21–14, 21–19	Winner
2007	All England Open	Chen Yu	21–13, 21–12	Winner
2007	China Masters	Wong Choong Hann	21–19, 21–9	Winner
2007	Denmark Open	Bao Chunlai	21–15, 21–12	Winner
2007	Hong Kong Open	Lee Chong Wei	9–21, 21–15, 21–15	Winner
2008	Korea Open	Lee Hyun-il	21–4, 21–23, 23–25	Runner-up
2008	All England Open	Chen Jin	20–22, 23–25	Runner-up
2008	Swiss Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–13, 21–18	Winner
2008	China Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–18, 21–9	Winner
2008	Hong Kong Open	Chen Jin	9–21, 21–9, 17–21	Runner-up
2009	All England Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–19, 21–12	Winner
2009	Swiss Open	Lee Chong Wei	16–21, 16–21	Runner-up
2009	French Open	Taufik Hidayat	21–6, 21–15	Winner
2009	China Masters	Boonsak Ponsana	21–17, 21–17	Winner
2009	China Open	Jan Ø. Jørgensen	21–12, 21–12	Winner
2010	China Masters	Chen Long	21–15, 13–21, 21–14	Winner
2010	Japan Open	Lee Chong Wei	20–22, 21–16, 17–21	Runner-up
2011	Korea Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–19, 14–21, 21–16	Winner
2011	All England Open	Lee Chong Wei	17–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2011	Singapore Open	Chen Jin	Walkover	Runner-up
2011	China Open	Chen Long	21–17, 26–24	Winner
2011	Hong Kong Open	Chen Jin	21–12, 21–19	Winner
2011	BWF Super Series Finals	Chen Long	21–12, 21–16	Winner
2012	Korea Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–12, 18–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2012	All England Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–19, 6–2r	Winner
2014	Australian Open	Simon Santoso	22–24, 21–16, 21–7	Winner
2014	China Open	Srikanth Kidambi	19–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2015	Malaysia Open	Chen Long	22–20, 13–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2015	Japan Open	Viktor Axelsen	21–19, 16–21, 21–19	Winner
2016	All England Open	Tian Houwei	21–9, 21–10	Winner
2017	Malaysia Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–19, 21–14	Winner

     BWF Superseries Finals tournament

     BWF Superseries Premier tournament

     BWF Superseries tournament

IBF/BWF Grand Prix (28 titles, 6 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2001	Denmark Open	Bao Chunlai	5–7, 1–7, 0–7	Runner-up
2002	Korea Open	Shon Seung-mo	1–7, 7–3, 7–3, 7–5	Winner
2003	German Open	Lee Hyun-il	4–15, 4–15	Runner-up
2003	Japan Open	Xia Xuanze	12–15, 10–15	Runner-up
2003	China Open	Wong Choong Hann	17–16, 15–12	Winner
2003	Denmark Open	Chen Yu	15–4, 15–6	Winner
2003	Hong Kong Open	Boonsak Ponsana	15–4, 9–15, 15–8	Winner
2004	German Open	Xia Xuanze	17–16, 15–9	Winner
2004	All England Open	Peter Gade	9–15, 15–5, 15–8	Winner
2004	Swiss Open	Bao Chunlai	15–12, 15–6	Winner
2004	Denmark Open	Xia Xuanze	15–12, 15–11	Winner
2004	China Open	Bao Chunlai	15–11, 15–10	Winner
2005	German Open	Muhammad Hafiz Hashim	15–8, 15–8	Winner
2005	All England Open	Chen Hong	15–8, 5–15, 2–15	Runner-up
2005	China Masters	Bao Chunlai	15–6, 15–13	Winner
2005	Malaysia Open	Lee Chong Wei	15–17, 15–9, 9–15	Runner-up
2005	Japan Open	Chen Hong	15–4, 2–0r	Winner
2005	Hong Kong Open	Bao Chunlai	15–4, 15–6	Winner
2006	All England Open	Lee Hyun-il	15–7, 15–7	Winner
2006	Malaysia Open	Lee Chong Wei	18–21, 21–18, 21–23	Runner-up
2006	Japan Open	Taufik Hidayat	16–21, 21–16, 21–3	Winner
2006	Chinese Taipei Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–18, 12–21, 21–11	Winner
2006	Macau Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–18, 18–21, 21–18	Winner
2006	Hong Kong Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–19, 8–21, 21–16	Winner
2007	German Open	Chen Yu	Walkover	Winner
2008	Thailand Open	Boonsak Ponsana	17–21, 21–15, 21–13	Winner
2011	German Open	Chen Jin	21–19, 21–11	Winner
2012	German Open	Simon Santoso	21–11, 21–11	Winner
2014	China Masters	Tian Houwei	21–14, 21–9	Winner
2014	Chinese Taipei Open	Wang Zhengming	21–19, 21–14	Winner
2015	Brasil Open	Pablo Abián	21–13, 21–17	Winner
2016	German Open	Chou Tien-chen	15–21, 21–17, 21–17	Winner
2016	China Masters	Chen Long	21–17, 23–21	Winner
2017	Swiss Open	Shi Yuqi	21–12, 21–11	Winner

     BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

     BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

Invitational tournament

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2012	Copenhagen Masters	Peter Gade	22–20, 16–21, 14–21	Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2014	China International Challenge	Lee Chong Wei	Cai Yun Fu Haifeng	18–21, 19–21	Runner-up

Performance timeline

Key

Singles

This table is current through 2020 All England Open.

* : Means Lin Dan gave a walkover at his last round of this tournament (Lost the match and didn't count into the number of loss) Notes

• BWF Super Series Finals was held from 2008 to 2017, when BWF World Tour Finals replaced it.

Longest winning streak

34 match winning streak

In 2006, Lin created a record by winning 34 matches in a row.

#	Tournament	Category	Start date	Rd	Opponent	Score
–	Malaysia Open	Grand Prix	18 June 2006	F	Lee Chong Wei	18–21, 21–18, 21–23
1	Chinese Taipei Open	Grand Prix	21 June 2006	1R	Poompat Sapkulchananart	21–12, 21–11
2			22 June 2006	2R	Muhammad Roslin Hashim	21–16, 21–11
3			23 June 2006	QF	Rajiv Ouseph	21–14, 21–13
4			24 June 2006	SF	Chen Jin	21–13, 21–17
5			25 June 2006	F	Lee Chong Wei	21–18, 12–21, 21–11
6	Macau Open	Grand Prix	19 July 2006	1R	Chan Io Chong	21–5, 21–15
7			19 July 2006	2R	Shon Seung-mo	21–14, 20–22, 21–10
8			20 July 2006	3R	Shōji Satō	22–20, 21–9
9			21 July 2006	QF	Muhammad Hafiz Hashim	19–21, 21–18, 21–15
10			22 July 2006	SF	Lee Hyun-il	21–10, 21–17
11			23 July 2006	F	Lee Chong Wei	21–18, 18–21, 21–18
12	Hong Kong Open	Grand Prix	29 August 2006	1R	Agus Hariyanto	21–19, 19–21, 21–12
13			30 August 2006	2R	Poompat Sapkulchananart	21–11, 21–15
14			31 August 2006	3R	Yeoh Kay Bin	21–18, 22–20
15			1 September 2006	QF	Taufik Hidayat	4–1r
16			2 September 2006	SF	Kenneth Jonassen	16–21, 23–21, 21–16
17			3 September 2006	F	Lee Chong Wei	21–19, 8–21, 21–16
18	World Championships		20 September 2006	1R	Bobby Milroy	21–16, 21–17
19			21 September 2006	2R	Park Sung-hwan	21–16, 21–12
20			22 September 2006	QF	Muhammad Hafiz Hashim	21–10, 21–9
21			23 September 2006	SF	Chen Hong	15–21, 21–19, 21–14
22			24 September 2006	F	Bao Chunlai	18–21, 21–17, 21–12
23	Japan Open	Grand Prix	10 October 2006	1R	Yusuke Arita	21–11, 21–17
24			11 October 2006	2R	Joachim Persson	21–12, 21–10
25			12 October 2006	QF	Muhammad Hafiz Hashim	21–19, 21–14
26			13 October 2006	SF	Peter Gade	21–12, 21–14
27			14 October 2006	F	Taufik Hidayat	16–21, 21–16, 21–3
28	World Cup		24 October 2006	RR	John Moody	21–9, 21–14
29			27 October 2006	RR	Kuan Beng Hong	21–12, 21–8
30			28 October 2006	SF	Taufik Hidayat	Walkover
31			29 October 2006	F	Chen Yu	21–19, 19–21, 21–17
32	Asian Games	Team Event	30 November 2006	RR	Anup Sridhar	21–19, 21–11
33			2 December 2006	RR	Taufik Hidayat	17–21, 21–17, 16–21
34			4 December 2006	SF	Taufik Hidayat	22–20, 13–21, 21–12
–			5 December 2006	F	Lee Hyun-il	20–22, 21–11, 13–21

Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.

Player Matches Win Lost Diff. Bao Chunlai 25 20 5 +15 Chen Hong 10 5 5 0 Chen Jin 21 14 7 +7 Chen Long 19 9 10 –1 Chen Yu 6 6 0 +6 Du Pengyu 3 3 0 +3 Shi Yuqi 7 2 5 –3 Tian Houwei 7 7 0 +7 Xia Xuanze 9 5 4 +1 Zhao Junpeng 2 1 1 0 Chou Tien-chen 10 7 3 +4 Anders Antonsen 1 0 1 –1 Viktor Axelsen 9 3 6 –3 Peter Gade 20 17 3 +14 Jan Ø. Jørgensen 16 9 7 +2 Peter Rasmussen 1 0 1 –1 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 7 6 1 +5 Rajiv Ouseph 4 4 0 +4 Parupalli Kashyap 3 3 0 +3 Srikanth Kidambi 5 3 2 +1 B. Sai Praneeth 3 2 1 +1 Lakshya Sen 2 2 0 +2 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 5 3 2 +1

Player Matches Win Lost Diff. Taufik Hidayat 17 13 4 +9 Sony Dwi Kuncoro 12 9 3 +6 Tommy Sugiarto 8 6 2 +4 Kento Momota 5 1 4 –3 Sho Sasaki 14 13 1 +12 Roslin Hashim 8 8 0 +8 Lee Chong Wei 40 28 12 +16 Liew Daren 3 2 1 +1 Wong Choong Hann 8 8 0 +8 Loh Kean Yew 1 0 1 –1 Ronald Susilo 7 5 2 +3 Heo Kwang-hee 2 2 0 +2 Lee Hyun-il 17 14 3 +11 Park Sung-hwan 17 13 4 +9 Park Tae-sang 1 1 0 +1 Shon Seung-mo 6 5 1 +4 Son Wan-ho 14 11 3 +8 Boonsak Ponsana 12 11 1 +10 Kunlavut Vitidsarn 2 2 0 +2 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 3 2 1 +1 Nguyễn Tiến Minh 8 7 1 +6

Records

See also

In Spanish: Lin Dan para niños