CHENNAI: The last few days witnessed all walks of the international badminton fraternity paying their respects as Lin Dan announced his retirement from the sport. Nicknamed 'Super Dan' by peer Peter Gade in the early noughties, the Chinese can safely be anointed as the 'sport's greatest'. By every possible metric, he ranks head and shoulders above his rivals.
If you pick achievements, two Olympic golds is more than what any man has achieved. If you pick longevity, when the time he made his debut Back Street Boys' 'Shape Of My Heart' was a chartbuster. If you pick legacy, every kid who picked the sport wanted to become Lin Dan. Above all, he transcended sport to become a totem, a symbol for sport itself.
How did he achieve this? What was facing him like? The New Indian Express spoke to four Indians who played against him at different points of his career to try and paint a picture of Lin Dan, the player. Excerpts from the chat with Arvind Bhat, Anup Sridhar, B Sai Praneeth and P Kashyap...
Arvind Bhat
Head to head: 0-2
First match : German Open, 2003
Last match: Swiss Super Series, 2009
The thing that struck me most about his play, even back in 2003, was his pace. He had that explosive pace, he must have been like the badminton version of Shoaib Akhtar. He just wouldn't compromise his pace on anything. To play like that, you need to be a physical beast so you can imagine what his physical fitness must have been like. I saw very quickly that he was very strong if I gave air because of his ability to smash with power. I would send my shuttle long and deep to stand a chance but both times he was too good for me. After he won the first Olympic gold, he also changed his style as he started playing more rallies. He decided to tire his opponents out and also conserve his energy. In that sense, I got to see the best of him.
Anup Sridhar
Head to head: 0-5
First match: German Open, 2007
Last match: French Super Series, 2009
I think both of us belonged to the same batch and made the transition to the senior circuit at the same time. From the very beginning it was clear that he was going to be a very, very special player. He was something else and I have no problems in saying that he is the greatest player of all time. What also made him go up a level was that he stopped being just that explosive player. Sometime around 2009-10, he stopped being all power and pace and converted to more of a ralley-oriented game. There was perhaps one weakness in his game, the backhand side defence and I did target that a few times. There were a couple of close games but ultimately he won all five against me.
B Sai Praneeth
Head to head: 1-2
First match: Malaysia Open, 2017
Last match: Denmark Open, 2019
Naturally, when you play somebody like him, you tend to become conscious of the person standing on the other side of the net. He is a legend whichever way you look at it. The game plan before playing him was simple. “The score is 0-0 for both players, play your natural game and don't worry too much about the opponent.” This is also what Gopi sir (national coach Pullela Gopichand) used to tell me. He had amazing physical fitness as well but what made him extra special was the fact that his mental fortitude was of a different level. Even if he is down 16-20 in the third set, he believes that he has a chance.
P Kashyap
Head to head: 0-3
First match: Sudirman Cup, 2011
Last match: Australian Open, 2019
Growing up, all of us wanted to be like Lin Dan. Just the explosive way he attacked the shuttle, his power, the smash... he was the complete package if ever there was one. His greatness also comes through when, around 2008, he changed his strategy to go from all out attack to a more ralley-oriented game. He had the variety in his game to go from that to this. And his physical fitness... he was a freak of nature to be honest.