Lin Dan

Lin Dan (Chinese: 林丹; born 14 October 1983) is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, five-time World Championships gold medalist, two-time World Cup champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, four-time Asian Champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. He led China to victory 5 times at the Sudirman Cup, 6 times at the Thomas Cup, and 3 times at the Asian Games men's team event. Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time, by the age of 28 Lin had completed the "Super Grand Slam", having won the full set of all nine major titles in the badminton world of his time: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Year-end Finals, Asian Games, and Asian Championships, becoming the third player to achieve this feat after Ge Fei and Gu Jun, and the only male player to ever achieve this feat. Of the 9 major events, he had won at least 2 of each events except the Year-end Finals where he won once in his only time participating in that event. He also became the first men's singles player to retain the Olympic gold medal by winning in 2008 and successfully defending his title in 2012. Lin was dubbed "Super Dan" by opponent Peter Gade after winning the 2004 All England Open final, and the nickname has since been widely used by his fans as well as the media to refer to him, in recognition of his achievements. He was inducted to BWF Badminton Hall of Fame on 26 May 2023.