You must admire his guts (or ego) and determination. Whether it is only as a part of obligation or/and his inner desire to qualify, but we can see that he is still giving his all to try to achieve that despite his limitation which is out of his control. Who can control the time/age? We could say it's his lack of motivation or whatever, but we know that's now what's really stopping or keeping him down all this time. Yet, I still want to see him fight however disgraceful it may seem to some people. I think this dream of playing in Tokyo 2020 is real enough, he probably knows it himself it's not as realistic as it might have been like 3 or 4 years ago. That's why he calls it his dream. I don't know why people have to make fun of it and ridicule him for doing so..
He should quit whilst the world still remembers him as having been a fantastic player rather than someone who frequently lost to players who were much lower ranking than him, imho.
You know, had he been an early adopter of this philosophy, I doubt he would've done what he did. He's not taking the easy way out. Granted it might be due to the sponsorship deal but still.
His bad last 1 or 2 years can't possibly overshadow his over 10 years worth of great glorious days. He is only human after all. When he finally hangs his racket up for good, what people will talk about is his legendary days and achievements. Well.. at least I will There is no one like him.
Mohammad Ali, the former Heavyweight champion of the world was a terrific boxer and after winning the title for a third time against Leon Spinks in September 1978, on July 27, 1979, he announced his retirement from boxing and had this remained the case then he would have been remembered as the marvellous champion that he was, even to this day. Alas, he decided to fight Larry Holmes on October 2, 1980, (primarily for money) when he was clearly in no condition to fight and was easily dominated by Holmes to the extent that, for the first and only time in Ali's professional career, his trainer had to ask the referee to stop the fight. The parallels between what happened to Ali and what is happening to Lin Dan can easily be drawn. Unlike Ali, I wish for Lin Dan to chose the path of wisdom and retire so that he will be remembered for being the fantastic player and many-time champion he was rather than as a failing former star losing time after time against much inferior opposition simply to gather up the sponsorship cheques to boost his already very considerable bank balance.
Not a boxer fan (hardly watch any) and I only know and remember hearing about Ali as one of the greatest boxer ever. Never heard of his failing losing time and don't even change my mind after hearing it for the first time here. He's still Mohammad Ali. A legendary boxer. The only thing that will probably ruin any reputation was something like what Mike Tyson did, when he bit his opponent's ear (forgot his opponent's name). Rather than a losing legends because of old age.
I am one of his biggest fans and have watched nearly all of his fights on video. Undoubtedly, he is a legendary boxer but his decision to not quit whilst he was still ahead marred his excellent record. It is said that the battering he took at the hands of Larry Holmes contributed to the development of Parkinson's disease in Ali. He sacked his own trainer for daring to advise him that he should retire and despite pleas from fans worldwide to definitively retire, Ali fought one last time on December 11, 1981, in Nassau, Bahamas, against Trevor Berbick, losing a ten-round decision. Mike Tyson bit a piece off from Evander Holyfield's ear btw.
Oh yeah Holyfield. I happened to watch that match live. As you said Lin Dan has nothing to prove to anyone, so why stop him from playing? So what if he is losing? How you want to remember him is up to you. And how Lin Dan wants to end his career is up to him. My father who knows nothing and zero interest whatsoever about badminton even acknowledges Lin Dan to my shock. When i was visiting my family and I mentioned something about how CHN badminton players were not as strong as they were, he suddenly jumped in out of nowhere and said "CHN players are too rich now to care". I was (surprised that he even know badminton) like "How did you know about CHN players ?". His only responded "Yeah, that Lin Dan has too much money now". Ah.. I see. I could only smile and said "Oh, yeah, Lin Dan" and laughed. I guess for laymen like my father who only cares about 'the best sport in the world "Football"' and knows nothing about badminton, CHN badminton = Lin Dan and the Great Lin Dan is too rich to care about winning. .Non badminton fans most probably only ever heard of Lin Dan. As far as I am concerned, if I ever talk about LD to anyone or to the next generation, I would talk about how great he was. Youtube would have thousands of videos of his greatness anyway to make the legend Lin Dan keeps on living for an eternity.
Sometimes, a legend can be bigger than life itself. A legend can easily become the center of attention and even bigger than the world where a legend is hailed.
Excepting myself and a (regrettably) few others, sports fans constantly idolise players and so when they fall short of their impossible expectations of them, they, the fans, fall apart. I admire Kento Momota. However, I did not walk around in a despondent daze when he went out in the first round of the Malaysian Masters this year. Far from it, I looked forward to seeing signs of improvement in his next performance and even when he lost in the Indonesian Masters final to Antonsen, my head did not drop; rather, I began my eager wait for the German Open to start.
Well, LD lost to HKV in R2 German Open. Though I liked seeing him moving faster and looked stronger in R1. And he was doing well in G1 in R1 and the first half of G2 actually. But seemed that he had difficulties to keep it up for long. Can't really see him going far in AE either. Guess this coming year might be the toughest year of his badminton career. Jia you, Lin Dan! Don't give up just yet
I feel for old champions going from one soul-destroying defeat to another against less technically-able players just for the sake of sponsorship money. 在一場比賽中輸給一個不太值得的對手,只有羞辱才有榮譽 ( there is no honour in losing to a less worthy opponent in a game, only humiliation )
I know, but it is breaking my heart to see Lin Dan doing this. Why does he not want us to remember him as he was, a terrific champion and a fantastic role model for all aspiring young players? Is money more valuable than honour?
What do you mean by a less worthy opponent? Are you saying any other players are all less worthy? Stop disrespecting players. Professionals have to carry out their job. It would be a dishonor if they backed out their words or contract. There is no honor for quiters.
Less worthy of winning against the likes of Lin Dan I mean. Lin Dan should have retired whilst still at the top. Playing on just to accumulate money is damaging to his image, in my honest opinion.