Lin Dan (林丹) is top player of the Chinese national badminton team. He won the men's singles title at the 2012 London Olympic Games. He is considered to be the greatest badminton player of all time.
Born on Oct. 14, 1983 in Longyan, Fujian Province, Lin chose to start playing badminton at the age of 5. He entered the Fujian Sports School at the age of 9 and joined the Fuzhou Bayi Sports Team (at a military sports school) at the age of 12. He became part of China's national badminton team at the age of 18. In August 2002, Lin ranked first on the International Badminton Federation (IBF) list. In 2008, he won the men's singles Olympic title during the Beijing Olympic Games.
Since starting his professional career in 2001, Lin has won an impressive total of 66 championship titles. His trophies include five national titles, seven intercontinental ones, 39 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Open titles, and 15 world titles.
Because of this top seeded shuttler's numerous championship titles, Lin earned himself the nickname "Super Dan". Standing at 178 cm and weighing in at 72 kg, Lin has a unique and distinctive sense of fashion. He teamed up with designers to create his own line of LD sportswear and often holds media conferences to promote the collections to a wider audience. His wife Xie Xingfang is also a former player on China's national badminton team. She retired as a professional athlete in November 2009.
On Sept. 23, 2012, Lin Dan and Xie Xingfang held their wedding ceremony in Beijing.
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