Mon, May 28, 2012
China's Lin Dan returns a shot to South Korea's Lee Hyun-II during the final of the Thomas Cup world badminton team championships in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, on May 27, 2012. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)
WUHAN, China, April 27 (Xinhua) -- "Super Dan" is wondering about his future as his closest rivals have announced they won't play next Thomas Cup.
"It's the last Thomas Cup for my old friends Peter Gade and Taufik Hidayat," said Lin Dan. "I can't help wondering about how many more Thomas Cups I will play."
The 28-year-old Chinese defeated Lee Hyun Il 21-14, 21-17 in China's 3-0 thrashing of South Korea on Sunday afternoon, leading China to its fifth straight men's team championship and winning his own 16th world title.
"I didn't sleep well last night," Lin said after Sunday's final.
Lin's longtime rival Peter Gade of Denmark, 36, has announced his willingness to retire after London Olympics, while Indonesian Taufik Hidayat, 31, also claimed London Olympics will be his last Games.
Lin, four-time world champion, five-time All England winner and the reigning Olympic champion, is hailed as "a perfect shuttler" by Lee Hyun Il.
"I've been playing with Lin for almost a decade. He's always able to play sharp and quick kills," said Lee after losing his 13th encounter with Lin in their 16 meetings. "
As for London Olympics, Lin mentioned his quarterfinal opponent, Liew Daren of Malaysia, as "dark horse".
"The men's singles has become more competitive four years after the Beijing Olympics," said Lin. "I will keep fighting whoever stands across the net."
