Name: Lin Dan

Sport: Badminton

Date of Birth: October 14, 1983

Home: Fujian Province

Height: 1.76 meters

Weight: 66 kg

Experience:

1995: Bayi team

2000: Selected for the first national team

Characteristics:

A left-hand player, he emphasizes offense, speed and power. He is aggressive, a master of the drop shot and can attack very suddenly.

Major achievements:

2000 World Junior Championship: Champion, men's team

2000 Asia Junior Championship: Champion, men's singles

2001 Asia championship: Runner-up, men's singles

2002 All England Open: Third place, men's singles

2002 Korea Open: Champion, men's singles

2003 Japan Open: Runner-up, men's singles

2004 Thomas Cup: Champion Team

2005 World Championship: Runner-up, men's singles

2005 World Cup: Champion, men's singles

2006 World Championship: Champion, men's singles

Lin Dan won the men's singles title at the 2006 World Championship. His easy win in Madrid was based on two previous losses. "Losses teach me how to learn from my weaknesses, and they always help me improve," he said.

Although he had won the Thomas Cup and the Sudirman Cup, he thought only the winner of the men's singles finals at the World Championship should be ranked number one in the world. He was looking forward that day.

However, dreams are hard to achieve. He failed in 2004 at the Athens Olympics and lost the final at the 2005 World Championship. Finally, at the 2006 World Championship, he took the gold medal and his dream came true. He did so by beating another Chinese player, Bao Chunlai, who is his friend as well as adversary.

His family has been supportive and they have never pressured him during competitions. His mother asks that he not get injured during training and that he take good care of himself. She does not inquire much about his matches.

His girlfriend, Xie Xingfang, is another excellent Chinese badminton player. They are reputed to be a "perfect match," and when they both won at the 2006 World Championship in Madrid, many felt it was a romantic moment.

"We hope both of us can take the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics," he said.

(China.org.cn June 23, 2008)