Lin Declares He Will Fight On
It wasn’t the result he wanted, but Lin Dan’s opening round loss to Chen Long at the Fuzhou China Open 2019 wouldn’t be his last appearance, the two-time Olympic champion asserted.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Lin was scotching feverish speculation in the media that he would call time on his eventful career at the China Open in the case of his ninth opening-round exit this year.
The rumours of his retirement had gained currency with Lin currently in the 18th spot of the BWF world rankings, way behind compatriots Chen Long (No.3) and Shi Yu Qi (No.4). With a maximum of two players from each Member Association eligible to qualify to the Tokyo Olympics if they are in the top 16 (as of 30 April 2020), Lin’s chances have receded, but he stated that he would continue his attempts to qualify.
“Qualifying to the Tokyo Olympics is my biggest challenge; I will continue to do my best and try to get better results out of competitions,” Lin said, following his 19-21 21-12 21-12 loss to Chen. “I feel some regret that I couldn’t win today.”