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Table of Contents
Hailed as “The King of Badminton”, Lin Dan boasts an amazing record, having won two gold medals in a row at the Beijing and London Olympics, two consecutive gold medals at the Asian Games, and holding the title of world champion for three years in a row, with five world champion titles in total. He commands the court with ruthlessly efficient footwork, unparalleled momentum, and a smash that stops other players in their tracks.
See the fact file below for more information on the Lin Dan or alternatively, you can download our 24-page Lin Dan worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
CHILDHOOD
- Lin Dan was born on October 14, 1983 in the Fujian Province of China to parents Gao Xiuyu and Lin Jianbin, who hailed from the Hakka ancestry.
- When he was little, Lin Dan’s parents took him to piano lessons so he could become a pianist someday, but, he was more inclined towards badminton and started to play when he was 5 years old.
- Having started training at a very young age, he was scouted by the People’s Liberation Army Sports Team after winning the National Junior Championships when he was 12, and was enlisted into the Chinese National Badminton Team in 2001, when he was 18.
YOUNG BLOOD
- 2003 marked the beginning of Lin Dan’s professional badminton career as witnessed at the Asian Badminton Championships. As a rookie, he hae an impressive stint by reaching the final, but was defeated by fellow Chinese national Xia Xuanze.
- Lin smashed through the year 2004, having earned the No. 1 spot in the Badminton World Federations (BWF) world ranking for the first time in February.
- As a member of the Chinese national team for the 2004 Thomas Cup, he helped defeat the United States and Indonesia to win the qualifying rounds, and cruised past Japan and Korea in the semifinals. In the final, he beat Denmark’s Peter Gade in straight games to give China the lead before the Chinese team eventually won.
- Lin’s run came to a brief halt later into the 2004 season when he lost in the Malaysia Open quarterfinals, and was reported to suffer a leg injury prior to the Olympic Games in Athens, where he, as first seed, was also knocked out early.
- In 2005, Lin bounced back to regain the No. 1 spot. Back to his old form and shape, he prevailed in prestigious tournaments such as the German Open, Hong Kong Open, Japan Open, China Masters, and the World Cup. Despite his triumphs, he was unable to defend his All England title against Chen Hong, and was defeated in the Malaysian Open by rising star and rival Lee Chong Wei.
GOING FOR THE RUN
- In 2010, Lin Dan became the first athlete to win all of the present major titles in Asian badminton, both individual and national team divisions, after he won his first ever Asian Games gold medal in November.
- Injuries began to strike Lin after 2010, but he continued to play well in the 2012 London Olympics where he triumphed in the men’s singles, becoming the first player to retain the Olympic title.
- It was a year later when injuries took their toll on the badminton superstar and had a great impact on his ranking and performance: he only appeared once in 2013 at the Badminton Asia Championships, and eventually withdrew from the tournament due to health problems.
- After a 7-month absence, Lin dropped to 104th in the 2014 World Rankings, but retained his Asian Games title for the 4th time, and went on to take the honors in the Olympic test event in Rio de Janeiro in 2015.
ROAD TO RIO
- With the Olympic rule restricting participating nations to sending a maximum of 2 players for the men’s singles, Lin did what he had to do and beat the top seed and fellow Chinese player Chen Long in the China Masters in April 2016. With this victory, Lin not only won the tournament for the sixth time, but also secured a ticket (and his fourth appearance) to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
- Lin fought his way through to the semifinals at Rio, where, almost inevitably, Lee was waiting for him. This time it was the Malaysian who prevailed, with Lin then suffering defeat to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the bronze medal match.
- Ten years the Chinese great’s junior, Axelsen said he was “shocked” at beating a player he had been watching since he was a little boy.
LIN THE LEGEND
- Regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time, he is the only man to have won back-to-back Olympic singles titles, a feat he achieved at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
- A five-time world champion between 2006 and 2013, he is also the only player in badminton history to have won the Super Grand Slam, having lifted all nine of the sport’s major titles: the Olympics, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, BWF Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games, and the Asian Championships.
- Known as “Super Dan” and the “Rock Star of Badminton”, Lin is capable of propelling the shuttlecock at a speed of more than 330 km/h with his left-hand smashes, and also boasts a lightning-fast return and superlative touch.
Lin Dan Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Lin Dan across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Lin Dan worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Lin Dan who boasts an amazing record, having won two gold medals in a row at the Beijing and London Olympics, two consecutive gold medals at the Asian Games, and holding the title of world champion for three years in a row, with five world champion titles in total. He commands the court with ruthlessly efficient footwork, unparalleled momentum, and a smash that stops other players in their tracks.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Lin Dan Facts
- Athlete Profile
- Badminton 101
- Crossword Smash
- Smash Nation
- Legends Like Lin Dan
- Badminton Greats
- Legen-DAN-ry
- Grand Slam
- Lin for the Win!
- Need for Speed
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Link will appear as Lin Dan Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 9, 2019
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.