Not so Super: Lin Dan bats off retirement talk after Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen wins Olympic Games badminton bronze
The 22-year-old won 15-21, 21-10, 21-17 to likely bring the curtain down on the double Olympic champion’s hallowed Games career
China’s Lin Dan, regarded by some as badminton’s greatest-ever player, batted off retirement talk after leaving the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games empty-handed on Saturday after losing the bronze medal match to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen.
The double Olympic champion took the first set 21-15 but tired to lose the following two games 21-10, 21-17 in a defeat that likely brought the curtain down on his hallowed Games career.
“I was pretty drained from yesterday’s match,” Lin said, referring to his semi-final defeat to Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia on Friday.
“However in the third game of today’s match I think my opponent got lucky because there were several shots at the net that I didn’t perform very well.”
Lin – a five-time world champion – won gold at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, beating Lee in both finals but he was unable to repeat those heroics in Brazil.