‘Little shuttlecock’ gives Super Dan extra motivation to keep on playing

KUCHING: Fatherhood has given Lin Dan an extra motivation to continue wielding his racquet in world badminton.

“I want my son to see me play. He’s very young now ... I guess I’ve to just play on,” said the 33-year-old Lin Dan, who defeated world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei 21-19, 21-14 yesterday for his first-ever Malaysian Open title.

Last year, Lin Dan’s wife and former world women’s singles champion Xie Xingfang gave birth to Xiao Yu – which means “little shuttlecock”. On Feb 12 this year, the couple celebrated Xiao Yu’s 100th day.

“I want to spend as much time as possible with my son. So this papa will have to be selective of his tournaments. It’s good as it keeps the fan guessing on what form I’ll be in whenever I take a break and make a comeback,” said Lin Dan cheekily.

He took a six-month break to spend time with his family after losing in the bronze-medal playoff against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.

“Now I am motivated to improve my world ranking and try to qualify for the World Championships (in August in Scotland),” said the world No. 6.

“I’m not only competing against players from outside of China, but also those in my country. We’ve many good young players.”

When asked whether there were any plans to retire at the same time with arch-rival Chong Wei, five-time world champion Lin Dan joked: “I’ll wait for a text message from Chong Wei and then tell you the date.”

He added: “Seriously, Chong Wei and I’ve different missions. I’ve won every badminton title in the world, so I’m OK if I don’t qualify for the World Championships or don’t win any more Open titles.

“Chong Wei has not won a world title or an Olympic title, so there’ll always be pressure for him.”

Lin Dan will next compete in the China Masters in Changzhou from April 18-23 to gain crucial ranking points.

He is currently ranked 19th in the battle to qualify for the World Championships, behind three Chinese players. Teenager Shi Yuqi is the best at No. 6 followed by Tian Houwei (7th) and Olympic champion Chen Long (9th).

A country can have a maximum of three players if all of them are ranked in the top 24 when the qualifying period ends on April 27. Judging by Lin Dan’s form yesterday, he is a sure bet to make the cut.