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Asian Games: Lin Dan may lift badminton gold medal without having to play
China named the 34-year-old Lin Dan as the third singles in the men's badminton team event at the Asian Games.
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Lin Dan of China hits a shot against Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands in their men's singles match during the badminton World Championships in Nanjing, Jiangsu province on July 30, 2018.
Johannes Eisele / AFP (AFP/Johannes Eisele)
Chinese badminton superstar Lin Dan may win a fifth Asian Games gold medal without even lifting his racket.
Surprisingly, China have only named the 34-year-old Lin Dan for the team event as the third singles behind reigning All-England champion and world No. 2 Shi Yuqi and world No. 7 Chen Long.
The world No. 14 Lin Dan has been dropped from the individual competition.
The China Badminton Association have listed only reigning All-England champion Yuqi and Chen Long for the individual event, which means Lin Dan will not get to score a hattrick of men’s singles titles.
Lin Dan won in the Guangzhou and Incheon editions defeating Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei in both finals.
Although fielded in the team event, he may not get a chance to play.
On Monday, China thrashed Hong Kong 3-0 in the quarterfinals with points from Shi Yuqi, Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen and Chen Long at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
China will clash against Taiwan in the semifinals today and the two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan may not get to play again if the tie is decided earlier.
This is Lin Dan’s fifth straight Asian Games appearance. He was one of the team members when China won the men’s team event in Doha 2006 and Guangzhou 2010.
China are sure to reach the final as they also boast a formidable second doubles pair in 2016 Rio Olympic Games champions Liu Cheng-Zhang Nan.
The other men’s team semifinal is between hosts Indonesia and Japan.
Indonesia edged India 3-1 while Japan strolled to a 3-0 win over defending champions South Korea, who were clearly out of depth since all their top doubles players left the national team in 2016.
This article appeared on The Star newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
