LIN DAN BIDS 2009 ADIEU AND TARGETS LONDON 2012
In Shanghai on Sunday afternoon, China’s Lin Dan issued a veiled warning to Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei and the rest of the world that he is serious about defending his Beijing Olympic Gold Medal in London in 2012. Since badminton was introduced as a medals sport at the Olympic in 1992, no Singles player has ever won gold back-to-back and Lin Dan intends to be the first.
Going by his recent demonstration of prowess on court, few will bet against him achieving that target. His most recent performance at the China Open gives strong indication that Lin Dan is not making idle threats. He virtually ‘toyed’ his way past a hapless 22-year old from Denmark who went by the unfamiliar name of Jan Jorgensen to win the 12th and final leg of this year’s Super Series.
Ranked a creditable 12 by the Badminton World Federation, Jorgensen was actually nobody’s punch-bag if result at the Shanghai tournament is anything to go by until of course he ran smack into Lin Dan
The Danes’ first victim was Lee Chong Wei. Beating the World No 1 in three games was a huge achievement. He outlasted the experienced and powerful Chong Wei 21-17 in the ‘rubber. The Malaysian was supposedly ‘rested well’ for this tournament after skipping the two earlier European legs, so there was no plausible reason for his defeat except to concede that he lost to a better player on the given day. And Jorgensen was.
In the last four, the Dane ran into Thailand’s No. 1 Boonsak Ponsana. Though ranked lower at 14, the Thai hotshot was a more seasoned campaigner with pretty impressive credential against some of the leading players. But if he had harboured thoughts that the young comparatively ‘inexperienced’ Dane ‘could be taken,’ he was in for a rude shock. Record will recall that it was a surprisingly comfortable straight games victory 21-12, 21-19 for Jorgensen.
The young Dane’s romantic run in the China Open continued to reverberate in the arena as Jorgensen who has been variously described as the next Great White Hope chased for his first Super Series success.