China’s two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan, arguably the greatest badminton player of all time, announced his retirement on Saturday aged 36.
It means that Lin, who won gold at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, will not compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to next summer because of coronavirus.
Lin, who had something of a “bad boy” reputation during his younger days and has several tattoos, ends with 666 singles wins and a glut of medals.
“My family, coaches, team-mates and fans have accompanied me through many peaks and difficult troughs,” he said in a post on China’s Twitter-like Weibo that quickly went viral. “Every forceful jump was a desire for victory. I have dedicated everything to this sport I love.”
As well as the double Olympic golds, Lin was also a five-time world champion and a long-time former world number one.
Lin earned the nickname “Super Dan” at the peak of his career.
Here are compilations of his greatest moments and best shots over the years:
(With inputs from AFP)
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