Dan Lin

Nickname

Super Dan. (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jul 2011)

Hobbies

Football, watching movies. (baike.baidu.com, 02 Aug 2010)

Family

Wife Xie Xingfang.

Language(s) spoken

Chinese

Club name

Peoples' Liberation Army , China

Coach

He Guoquan (CHN) from 1992 (baike.baidu.com, 02 Aug 2010)

Handedness

Left (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jul 2011)

Other sports

His wife Xie Xingfang won a silver medal in badminton at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jul 2011)

Debut

2001 for China, International Tournament (Malaysia) (baike.baidu.com, 02 Aug 2010)

Injuries

He was forced to retire from a semifinal match at the 2007 Swiss Open due to a back injury. (badmintoncentral.com, 17 Mar 2007)

He injured his knee during the 2006 All England Open, which he still went on to win. (china.org.cn, 23 Jan 2006)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
He started playing the sport at the age of five. (baike.baidu.com, 02 Aug 2010)

Hero
Michael Jordan. (baike.baidu.com, 02 Aug 2010)

Most influential person in career
His father. (baike.baidu.com, 02 Aug 2010)

Superstitions / Rituals
After each victory he salutes all four sides of the arena. (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jul 2011)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"Live happily everyday, and cherish every day. Never give up." (baike.baidu.com, 02 Aug 2010)

Awards
Named 2008 Player of the Year by the World Badminton Federation. (Reuters, 19 May 2009)

General
ATTACK
In April 2008 he had to defend himself against media reports that he punched his coach during a pre-Olympic training camp in the Fujian Province. Journalists reported seeing him attack his coach Ji Xinpeng after a practice match, described his behaviour as intolerable and called for him to be dropped from the national team. He said the claims were false and pleaded with his fans not to believe the reports. "I feel confused and annoyed about where the media found such a made-up and untrue story," he said. "Please do not deliberately discredit me and our badminton team, which would affect our preparation for the Olympics." (sport.guardian.co.uk, 11 Apr 2008)

PUBLIC CLASH
In January 2008 he had a public clash with South Korea's Chinese coach Li Mao during the final of the 2008 Korea Super Series tournament in Seoul, South Korea. He exchanged words with Li after a disputed line call before threatening the coach and raising his racquet above his head. The two were separated by coaches and teammates before any blows were exchanged. He refused to apologise for his behaviour claiming that Li had used foul and abusive language to attack him and the Chinese team. China's Table Tennis and Badminton Administrative Centre [TBAC] backed him, saying his reaction was understandable if he had been provoked. (chinadaily.com.cn, 11 Apr 2008)

SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP
His girlfriend is top Chinese badminton player Xie Xingfang. They were the glamour couple of 2006 with both of them having a very successful year. Their year's work culminated in them both winning the 2006 World Championships held in Madrid, Spain. (china.org.cn, 20 Sep 2006; Infostrada, 25 Sep 2006)

CROWD FAVOURITE
He is known and loved for his on-court theatrics which include regularly taking off his shirt to throw to the crowd after a win, and doing a spinning pirouette to stand up after diving to make a shot. (nbcolympics.com, 19 Jul 2004)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008, Athens 2004