Lin Dan

Lin Dan (simplified Chinese: 林丹; traditional Chinese: 林丹; pinyin: Lín Dān; born October 14, 1983 in Longyan, Fujian) is a dominant Chinese badminton player of Hakka ancestry. He has been nicknamed "Super Dan" (超级丹) by his fans. Lin won the men's singles gold medal at the 2008

Summer Olympics. He is the only player in badminton history to have won three singles world championship titles having done so consecutively in 2006, 2007, and 2009. Lin became one of the dominant players of men's singles, winning nine top tier international championships between 2002 and 2004. In a surprise loss, he was eliminated as the no.1 seed in the first round of the badminton men's singles in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. However, he has continued his dominance in international tournaments and has been continuously ranked number one in the world since early 2004, except for a very brief period of time in 2006 when Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia overtook him. Among the tournaments Lin Dan have won are the All-England Open (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009), the BWF World Championships (2006, 2007 and 2009), and the Olympic Games (2008). He has helped China win three consecutive Thomas Cup (men's world team)