Lin Dan stays grounded even after winning opening match in Thomas Cup Finals 2012
China’s badminton ace Lin Dan proved his class in opening match of Thomas Cup Finals against England but he also proved himself a thorough gentleman by praising the gaming techniques of his opponents.
In Group A match, China outclassed England with a significant 5-0 margin and alarmed all the contestants of premium team event of the world.
World Number two shuttler Lin Dan opened attack by taking on British Men’s Singles expert Rajiv Ouseph and set the tempo for his team-mates.
However, the maestro remained humble even after sealing a splendid straight-set victory as he admired his rival’s craft while expressing his joy over this success.
Lin Dan said, “Rajiv is a good player as he had beaten Peter (Gade Christensen) before. I know how important it is for me to win and inspire the team.”
Earlier, it was not completely smooth road to triumph as the lower ranked Rajiv showed a spark in the very first set of the match and dominated a decent portion of the game.
The British shuttler silenced the crowd with a swift lead of six points but his supremacy was short lived as Lin Dan stormed back and proved his supremacy by registering a staggering total of 21-14.
Later, he stole the limelight with even more impressive performance in second set and placed a winning margin of 21-10.
Lin Dan looked satisfied with his successful comeback after trailing six points behind a lower ranked contender in the opening match.
Meanwhile, the World and Olympic Champion also showed respect for his next competitors from Indonesia as he termed them the strongest team of Thomas Cup Finals but he looked confident to overpower them.
Lin Dan said, “Indonesia is one of the strongest team in the Thomas Cup Finals. It does not matter whether Indonesia field Simon or Taufik as the first singles, I will be ready.”
China will meet Indonesia on Tuesday, May 22 and Lin Dan is expected to lock horns with former World and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat in first Singles tie.
Though, the Chinese master has prevailed in 10 out of previous 13 meetings but still this clash of the titans will be a feast for the eyes.
Tags: