That one is hilariously bad. Lin Dan is a terrible racket promoter isn’t he? Stuck to his AT700 old colour for like 4 good years, then Z Force II for 2 years, then this “LD Force” which everybody knows is a paintjob for 4 years. I really wonder what could’ve led Yonex to justify this amazing contract. Give him a contract from 2014-2016, cool. 10 years?? They really thought he was an immortal
I couldn't find any proofs of a 10-year-long contract or any details about it. Are those just rumours? Any official statements from Yonex have been made regarding the length of the contract? I could only find this. And it only mentions "multiple years" for the contract length. Even if it is 10 years, it might include some years as a Yonex representative/ambassador only for events such as the Legend's vision and equipment promotion (shoes rackets etc). Some people would still buy some LD marketed products even after he will retire.
True true. I’m curious though of the commercial value of these soon-to-be retiring all time greats. Uniqlo pumped a lot of money into Federer who’s clearly near the end of his career too. To me it feels like the visibility of the athlete in real tournaments is pretty important to the marketing success, seeing a player come out with equipment in his name at a promotional event isn’t quite the same as him using it in tournaments. I don’t think the Victor Zhao Jianhua rackets were extremely successful. Add that to Lin Dan’s fickleness with his equipment, really makes me doubt the value addedness for Yonex. But I’m just blabbering, those Yonex guys should have it all figured out
Well, Lee Chong Wei, Peter, and Taufik do still have some sort of contract with Yonex, they do still promote the brand. So it must be something of the sort.
So nothing is impossible for Lin Dan who will turn 37 in next year OG (if qualified)? Trying to digest this fact
A solid article about Lin Dan's career. Although it is in French and way too long for me to translate, there are some good graphs and videos of classic matches to watch or re-watch. And if you understand French, that's a good read to know more or be reminded about his whole career. Full article.
Thanks for the article, it was good to read. Maybe as a big fan, I didn't come across anything new, but nevertheless it was an enjoyable read.
A part of the article I particularly liked: It is also when we think they are finished that the greatest champions still manage to surprise us. When we think that magic has left the game of a hero it ends up sparking, sparkling, through all the pores of his body. Stimulating the greatness of an old champion requires the right stimulus. A world championship. Olympic Games. A third leg of an epic match against another cador of the world circuit, terrified at the idea of seeing the doors of the pantheon close again in front of him. The kind of event that, alone, can restore the very essence of tenors like Lin Dan. Help them become, for an hour or two, the leaders of a pack used to submitting.
About the contract, LD however his form may be in the tour, pulls an insane crowd. Badminton despite its popularity remains a borderline empty stand stand sport here but put LD there in a small event and you won't find a ticket in black. They're paying for the crowd puller not the player itself. Heck, their astrox stand will get 12 people inside without LD here. Put that stand in Legends Vision or an event he's coming to and the response is overwhelmingly positive in comparison.
An interesting article about the iconic Lee-Lin badminton rivalry : https://www.foxsports.com.au/more-s...f/news-story/cb3f7b5a0c3b26bfa49428b5d81198a1 ===================================== WHO ARE LEE AND LIN? Let’s start with Lin, who’s undisputedly regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time. The Chinese player is a two-time Olympic champion, five-time World champion, and the only person in badminton history to complete the “Super Grand Slam”, winning all nine major titles: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asian Championships. Lin is known for his tactical awareness, and adjusting to his opponent’s style of play; he’s used his incredible skillset to reach 105 finals, winning 66 titles in his career thus far. Lee has a different style of play, known for his impressive speed and counterattacking ability. The Malaysian has won three silver medals at the Olympics, and was the No. 1 seed in the sport for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from August 21, 2008 to June 14, 2012. Lee has reached 106 finals, walking away with 69 titles. ==================================== *Don't think whether there's any player could break Lin's impeccable record in this decade, maybe someday....
https://www.chinapress.com.my/20200402/丹麦羽球俱乐部宣布-林丹下赛季加盟/amp/ What is this? LD joining Danish club Hoybjör? Moving to Aarhus? Does anyone know?
What a surprising news to me. Briefly, the report is saying, Lin Dan will be joining the Danish Hoybjerg Club at Aarhus next season, exactly when unspecified. At the same time, he will be helping the club to groom talents. My goodness, I'd rather he stays in CBA to help train the CHN WS. Perhaps by joining a foreign club, he can extend his career both as player and coach better than if he were to stay put in China where there are already calls recently for his retirement from Chinese netizens, and, I think, its also in line with his contractual agreements with Yonex to maintain his presence in the international badminton scene until the end of the contract. Just guessing. Does that mean both Xie Xinfang and their child will be relocating to Denmark as well? Let's await further news as apparently the matter has not been reported in the Chinese media yet, China Press is a Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper. Fake news, misreporting? Maybe it's just for a short stint, a couple of months, while playing the Danish league, I don't know.
https://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2020-04-08/doc-iimxxsth4271246.shtml BWF's Director of Photography, Rapahel Sachetat, named Lin Dan as his favourite photography subject. Sachetat said the player he particular likes is Lin Dan, he is the greatest, many people think so too. He added he was very lucky to be the first journalist to interview Lin Dan, at that time Lin Dan was still quite young and tender, now he has become the most shining star and is still continuing to strive in the arena. Satchetat very much enjoyed watching the players on court displaying their emotions, especially the true feelings they let out at the end of the match. He mentioned especially, Chou Tien Chen, pointing him out as an excellent subject for the great style he exhibited when the match is over. Others he specifically mentioned included Tai Tzu Ying and Intanon Ratchanok, two players who upon winning showed their emotions freely to the photographers, as well as Anders Antonsen whose unrestrained body language makes him a photographer's delight.
https://bwfbadminton.com/news-single/2020/04/16/lee-lin-dans-the-greatest-i-was-obsessed-with-him/ LEE: LIN DAN’S THE GREATEST, I WAS OBSESSED WITH HIM 16 APRIL, 2020 TEXT BY BWF STAFF | BADMINTONPHOTO For the longest time, the rivalry Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan shared was classified by many as the greatest in men’s singles history. Fans were also split on who the better player was, although China’s Lin possesses a better head-to-head record with 28 wins from 40 duels. After all these years, Lee has revealed the answer. “You have to say it’s Lin Dan,” the former world No.1 replied when asked who the greatest badminton player of all time was by Malaysia’s former Deputy Sports Minister Steven Sim during a recent Facebook Live session. “He’s a legend. His titles speak for themselves. We have to salute him.” The rivals embrace each other after the London 2012 Olympic Games final. Lin denied Lee the accolades most shuttlers consider the biggest in their careers. The Malaysian lost two Olympic finals (2008 and 2012) and two World Championship title matches (2011 and 2013) to his great rival. Lee admitted his “obsession” of wanting to be better than the two-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion kept him on his toes. “Lin Dan was constantly in my head when I got back to training after every loss. I knew if I wanted to win important tournaments, I had to beat him. I couldn’t relax,” the 37-year-old said. “Even when I was cramping up, I told my coach I wanted to continue training because Lin Dan was waiting for me. I was thinking about him all the time.” Asked how he keeps himself busy at home while under Malaysia’s Movement Control Order, Lee replied: “I start my day by working out for about an hour, then I spend time with my two kids. I’ve put on 1kg so I must exercise!” Lee, forced to announce his retirement last year after being diagnosed with nasal cancer, confirmed he has made a full recovery and is now in good health.
Short but interesting interview! Not surprised by LCW words, we knew LD was in his head during his whole career.