Kuala Lumpur: The greatest badminton player of all time has become an afterthought in the upcoming Malaysia Open, but don’t count out him out just yet. He’s still dangerous and has a renewed focus that should prolong his career for years to come.
The Chinese badminton superstar, Lin Dan, is actively playing in a lot of tournaments to accumulate enough ranking points to make himself eligible for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, two months from now.
He’s currently ranked 10th in the world behind his teammates World No. 3 Shi Yuqi and World No. 5 Chen Long.
Only the top two players from each country are allowed to participate in the quadrennial event.
Malaysia’s men’s singles coach, Hendrawan said that Lin Dan has been very serious to achieve good results before the Asian Games.
“If we look at Lin Dan condition right now, he is in good shape as he just won the New Zealand Open early May. He will also be playing in the US Open (next week). So, this shows that he really wants to improve his ranking because only two players from each country can play in the Asian Games.”
“Lin Dan will definitely go all out at the Malaysian Open, besides, he is also the defending champion,” added Hendrawan.
In last year’s edition, Lin Dan lifted his first ever Malaysian Open title after defeated Lee Chong Wei in the final match in Kuching, Sarawak.
Meanwhile, Hendrawan said although Lee was handed a tough draw, but it’s going to be a good test for him before he plays at the World Championship in Nanjing, China (July 30 to August 5) and the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia (Aug 18 to Sep 2).
“It’s hard because the world’s best 32 players will play at the Malaysia Open, and if he can win the Malaysia Open, it’s going to boost his confidence before the World Championships and Asian Games,” said Hendrawan.
