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 often been ranked number one in the world since early 2004, although Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia overtook him in 2006 and again in 2009.
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) championships in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and has also been a major contributor to Chinese teams which won the Sudirman Cup (combined men’s and women’s team championship) in 2005, 2007 and 2009.
