Yes, as always in sports... best to leave at the top of the game. The mind may be able, but the body will not.
In no small part to Chen Long losing to Kenichi Tago in Thomas Cup and Son Wan Ho at the Asian games. Two consecutive team tournaments as the leading man, but failing to produce when it actually counts. Lin Dan on the other hand didn't even get to play because of Chen Long losing in Thomas Cup. In the Asian games, Lin Dan and Cai Yun/Fu Hai Feng were the old, almost ready to retired old men who were the ones who won their matches. It goes to show how much the mental part comes into play. Some thrive on pressure, some crumble into bits *cough*Chen Long*cough*
But recently CL made some progress on this aspect. One could remember how LD, in his youth, failed under pressure as well.
CL is just doing his best to emulate LD, especially with injecting pace into his game. Being like LD is all of the confidence he needs, I guess.
more and more world records by Lin Dan : 1. 17 major titles 2. the oldest badminton player to win team tournament 3. 100% winning records in major / multi-year event (OLY, WC, TC, SC, AG Team & Individual) held at home 4. 100% winning records in Thomas & Sudirman Cup final (10 final matches) 5. 12 years non-stop of winning major / multi-year event (exclude : SC 07 & TC 08 -> lose to LCW ; AG 06 team -> lose to LHI) this is LD's achievement with 100% winning records for the entire tournament : 2004 : Thomas Cup 2005 : Sudirman Cup 2006 : Thomas Cup, World Championships 2007 : World Championships 2008 : Olympics 2009 : Sudirman Cup, World Championships 2010 : Thomas Cup, Asian Games Team, Asian Games Individual 2011 : Sudirman Cup, World Championships 2012 : Thomas Cup, Olympics 2013 : World Championships 2014 : Asian Games Individual 2015 : Sudirman Cup
Lin dan after winning sudirman cup: "I wanted to play in every match at this Sudirman Cup, and it is tough to wait to find out if I will play or not—I waited a long time to find out. Today, I won the match in two games, but personally, I felt some unexpected pressure ahead of the match as I really wanted to win. If I lost, I could not forgive myself for ruining my team's chances of winning. So yeah, I was pretty nervous at the start of the match," said Lin Dan, five-time Sudirman Cup champion.
That he was 'pretty nervous' is an exaggeration, pardon me for saying. I've checked the Chinese article, not sure if it's the same source as yours, but my humble understanding of what he said was " Today I somehow felt a bit tense when I took to the court because I hoped to smoothly take the match, and if I had let the point slip out of my hands, I would feel very sorry for having been given the chance to play, so the burden in my heart was still quite big." Extracted from here http://sports.sina.com.cn/o/2015-05-17/19517610416.shtml “今天我上场时莫名地有些紧张，因为我希望自己能够很顺利地赢下这场比赛，因为如果从我手里丢掉这一分的话，我会觉得好像很对不起这样的一次上场机会，所以自己的心里负担还是很大的。” [As we know, Lin Dan is a big-match player, he's been there and done that so many times in both individual and team majors, and his mental strength is well-known; that's also why Li Yongbo chose him over Chen Long for the final matchup as reported. - Justin]
If given a choice between Lin Dan or Chen Long for a critical moment, we all know that the clear choice is Lin Dan, ceteris paribus. His mental strength is not yet matched by Chen Long. And at his form, with no injury, we all also know that it is very difficult for any foreign player to defeat Lin Dan, and I think he's also quite fresh during the 2015 SC, and we hadn't seen him playing in his full gear in the entire tournament yet. Overall the CHN's line-up for the final was rock solid (contrasted to what they staged at the SF).
I agree. Was his mental strength always this strong when he was younger as a child and teen? It'll be interesting to know if he's born with it or he developed it through the years. Any videos of his younger life and career from childhood and up?
I think both LYB and Tang XH helped Lin Dan developed his mental strength throughout the years. Winning the 2008 Beijing Olympics is the key event in defining who LD is today.
My understanding is that it was LYB who tasked Tang Xianhu to prepare Lin Dan for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, that's when TXH concentrated on developing LD's innate abilities to the fullest, specifically the mental aspect. The mentor-disciple relationship and mutual understanding fostered was so deep and strong that Lin Dan said he just have to turn and look at TXH and immediately he would know if he had played a shot right or done the right thing on court, i.e if TXH looked expressionless it meant not good or so-so, a slight nod meant it's fine. Of course, there's no denying Li Yongbo, who is himself a very tough character, also contributed in no small part to Lin Dan's mental strength over the years. How I wish Li Xuerui could have the good fortune to benefit from Tang Xianhu's personal coaching and mentoring as Lin Dan had.
I believe so, that first round knock-out dealt a severe blow to him, marked a turning-point in his young career, he was only 21 years old then; he actually was so dejected, entertained thoughts of quitting badminton, couldn't bear to stay a minute longer at the hotel and begged to be allowed to go home immediately. Ronald Susilo who inflicted that stunning defeat on him was reported to have said,' Lin Dan was too eager to win." Fortunately, Lin Dan gradually came out of his depression and the rest, as they say, is history.
Seriously, Lin Dan playing until 2020 Tokyo is inconceivable for me, even LYB doesn't believe it (from what I've read before). Like you, I expect Rio 2016 to be Lin Dan's final push to third Olympic gold and thereafter he would slow down considerably, perhaps play the occasional tournaments to make his presence felt while honoring his sponsorship obligations and doing his part to promote badminton worldwide. I mean, it's not like CHN is short of world contenders in MS with so many youngsters coming up now and then,and what with only two Olympic spots available - how could he continue to hog one of the two precious spots, his age 37 by then notwithstanding though certainly a big factor. Badminton is not like table tennis where a 40-year-old can still compete on equal terms with someone in his 20s; incidentally, Ma Lin and Wang Hao both retired before they are even 35.
