Salute the champion. Lin Dan, after his victory at the World Badminton Championship in Hyderabad last week, is one of the greatest players of all time. The 25-year-old Dan, better known as ‘Super Dan,’ became the only player to win the World Championship singles title for the third consecutive time, following his triumphs in 2006 and 2007. Remember, the World Championship is not held in an Olympic year. Dan reigned supreme in Beijing, too following his victories at the World Championships in Madrid in 2006 and Kuala Lumpur in 2007.
In Hyderabad, he became the undisputed king, with three world championships and an Olympic gold in four years. Besides the World Championship titles and the coronation in Beijing, Dan has a plethora of Super Series, including All England, titles in his kitty.
The Chinese Superman is simply unbreakable. No player in the world has come near him in achievement or performance. He is the Roger Federer of World badminton. Like Federer, Dan charms the players and the crowd with his magical game. They are transfixed. He has power, speed and athleticism. He is very sharp at the net. He is one of the greatest retrievers of the shuttle. Because of his superb fitness, he can retrieve by falling flat on the ground and at the next moment he is up and ready for his opponent’s shot. It is the hallmark of his awesome athleticism.
His defence is impregnable, solid like the Great Wall of China. He is one of the hardest hitters of the shuttle, probably harder than the great Liem Swie King of Indonesia. Dan’s monstrous smashes often travel at 325 km and land like a guided missile, precise and accurate. For the players, there is no terror greater than Dan. They are in awe of him and respect him. Is a genius? Dan, a man of few words, is modest. He says it is all because of his hard work. Even the Chinese players have not been able to break this great player. His opponents say he is a genius.
The seasoned Dane Peter Gade openly confesses that one needs to put “an extra 10 per cent” while playing Dan. Gade says that but for Dan, he could have won World titles. He says he was born in the wrong era. “Dan is fast and solid,” says Gade, who had come well prepared for the World Championship but was outthought and outplayed by this Chinese giant in the quarterfinals.
In fact, Dan’s pre-quarterfinal opponent Dicky Palyama of the Netherlands spent the previous night of his match against Dan watching videos of the champion. He couldn’t find any chink in Dan’s game. “Hey man, he is good in defence, good in attack. How do I play him? I came with a realistic target of losing to him,” confesses Palyama. According to the Dutch player there is a touch of arrogance in Dan’s game that he can beat any player. He thinks he is simply unbeatable.
About Dan’s monstrous smash, this is what Palyama has to say: “Even when we wait at the other side, waiting for his smash, Dan leaps in the air and sees our movement and then unleashes the missile. It is not steep and fast like (China’s) Bao (Chunlai). (Dan) hits it from a difficult angle. It is very difficult to pick that smash.” Though thankfully there was no terror attack as promised at the Hyderabad championships, a different kind of terror was prancing about unchecked -- Dan terror.
Sony Dwi Kuncoro, who lost to Dan in the 2007 World Championship final, was again a victim in the semifinal here. The Indonesian sixth seed was the only player to take a game off him in Hyderabad. But in the end Dan was unstoppable. Kuncoro simply smiled and said, “He is always special because he can slow down and also increase the pace according to his wish. I have met Lin so many times but I have never been able to beat him.”
Chen Jin, Dan’s opponent in the final, was also a mere spectator. “I tried my best but it was not enough,” says Jin, who was beaten 21-18, 21-16. According to former All England champion Pullela Gopi Chand, Dan’s superlative fitness makes him a special player. Sanjay Sharma, the former India International, who played alongside Prakash Padukone in the eighties, feels Padukone and Denmark’s Morten Frost would have posed Dan questions if they had played him and maybe could even have beaten him. “Prakash and Morten were thinking players. They were brilliant with their game, particularly Prakash who was a wristy genius. They would have made Dan play the way they wanted,” says Sharma.
But Dan is Dan. He is getting better and better. Who can stop him? He is the best because he keeps winning.
das@epmltd.com
Factfile
age: 25
nationality: China
style: left-handed
Lu Lan, women’s world champion, is but an example of the flow of world-class badminton players from China, says N Jagannath Das
lu Lan emerged as the unexpected women’s World Champion, beating the likes of second seed Lin Wang and fifth seed Xie Xingfang on her way to the summit in the 2009 World Championships in Hyderabad. The 22-year-old was seeded seventh in the event, below India’s Saina Nehwal. It was the biggest career title for the Chinese girl, who said she needed “more time and experience" to get used to the winning sensation. Though Lu’s triumph came as a surprise to the public, it should’ve been less so for Lu herself — her country does, after all, have the talent pool to produce a new champion in any major tournament.
It is the well-oiled system of China that churns out talented players. Chief coach Li Yangbo, widely considered the man behind his country’s domination of world badminton, was confident of the women’s world title staying in China despite the exodus of some experienced players to countries such as Hong Kong, the Netherlands and France. “We have young players who are talented. We have a proven record,’’ insisted Yangbo, on the eve of the Championships. He was vindicated when China won four of the five titles at stake in Hyderabad.
Prior to her maiden World Championship title, Lu had moderate success in international badminton, which was dominated by players such as compatriots Lin Wang and Xie Xingfang, Denmark’s Tine Rasmussen and India’s Saina Nehwal. Lu’s first major international title was the Denmark Super Series in 2007. In that year she was a bronze medallist in the World Championship in Kuala Lumpur and reached third place in BWF world rankings. She was also a finalist in All England in 2008, losing to Rasmussen.
The Hyderabad Championships was certainly a fitting stage for Lu to emerge as the best player in the world. She kept her nerves and handled pressure admirably. She was skillful, confident and aggressive.
After her victory over two-time world champion Xie Xingfang in the final, Lu said, “More than the victory it was an amazing experience to play against Xie and beat her in the finals.”
Xie feels Lu has lot of promise. “I hope she would do well in the forthcoming events also,” she said graciously.
lu lan factfile
age: 22 | nationality: China
style: right-handed
achievements
* Won Polish Open (2004)
* Won the Korea Open (2006)
* Won Denmark Open Series (2007)
* Won World Badminton
* Championship (2009), Hyderabad