Lin Dan was interviewed after the game.
The second match day of the world badminton tournament Malaysia station was launched on the 3rd. Lin Dan appeared in the first round of men’s singles. Under the condition of losing one game first, Zhou Tiancheng of Chinese Taipei was reversed by two 21-19. When he came to Li Zongwei’s home court, Lin Dan smiled after the game, because the old opponent had not retired, so he chose to stick to it.
Lin Dan had won 6 times with Zhou Tiancheng seven times before. When he met this time, he encountered trouble in the first game, and the second half of the game was widened, falling behind by 13 to 21. In the second game, Lin Dan staged a Jesus chase in the desperate situation behind 12 to 19, and scored 9 points to equalize the spot. After the decisive battle was 6 levels, Lin Dan took the lead in opening the gap; Zhou Tiancheng chased to 19 levels when he was 13 to 18 behind. At the critical moment, Lin Dan bit the last 2 points to achieve a super reversal.
For the performance of this game, Lin Dan said frankly that due to the wind direction, the first half of the three games was not very good. “Because of the influence of some wrong balls, including some crosswind, I played very uncomfortable. I didn’t think too much about the second game, so I wanted to quickly mobilize myself, because there will be a Singapore race next week, so I tried my best to top. In the process of the top, I slowly found the feeling of confrontation. From the back to the third game, both of them played well.”
The Tokyo Olympic Games will begin at the end of points race. Lin Dan’s ultimate goal is to impact the individual’s fifth Olympic qualification. In his view, taking part in the high-density competition of the World Badminton Federation at the age of 36 does not pose a big challenge to himself, but he still tries his best without the influence of major injuries. “There are not many men’s singles who can reach this age, so I hope to challenge myself and set an example to make young players feel that they can reach their thirties in the future.”
Challenge yourself, this is Lin Dan’s biggest motivation to stick to the competition at this stage. Facing the Malaysian media, he also did not forget to mention his old friend: “The old rival Li Zongwei has not retired, so he also hopes to have a chance to play together later.” However, Lin Dan revealed that because he was busy preparing for the war, he had not met his old opponent on this trip.
Li Zongwei has completed the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and has resumed training so far. He originally planned to return home, and then announced to postpone the return time.