Lin Dan dumped out of World C’ships

NANJING, China: Lin Dan said that he has no plans to retire after the Chinese badminton legend’s bid for a sixth world title met a sorry end on Thursday in the last 16.

The 34-year-old “Super Dan” was the most high-profile casualty on a day when men’s number one and reigning champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and women’s number one Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan both progressed into the quarter-finals of the World Championships in Nanjing.

Lin, a two-time Olympic and five-time world champion, may be reaching the end of his career but he remains the biggest draw in badminton.The crowd willed him on against his higher-ranked compatriot Shi Yuqi, 22, but Lin bowed out with a whimper, 21-15, 21-9. Asked if he might now call it a day, Lin, the bad boy of badminton in his younger days, said: “It’s been the same old question ever since I played Chen Long in the World Championships in 2013 (when Lin won it).

“This actually makes me feel proud. Although I lost the match today, I’ll discuss with my team to see what I could learn from it and hopefully improve my world rankings in the following tournaments this year.

“This is my 11th World Championships and I will continue to fight as long as I still have the capability and time.”The 24-year-old Axelsen pulled through against 10th seed Angus Ng Ka-long of Hong Kong and will play China’s Olympic champion Chen Long in a mouthwatering showdown on Friday.

Axelsen admitted that he was not at his best — so it helped that he was able to draw on the crowd, who have taken to the Dane partly because of his efforts to learn Chinese. Having a good grasp of Mandarin helps in a sport where many players are Chinese or of Chinese descent.

Axelsen has been learning for about four years and can give interviews in the language.He has even taken to translating for his rivals and he can also listen in on the tactics of his Chinese opponents.

“It really helps me communicate with my Chinese fans and I really appreciate all the support out here,” he told AFP. “Having the Chinese fans yelling your name, I really appreciate that.” Axelsen won the first game 21-19, then he and Ng went toe-to-toe in the second, before the Dane prevailed 21-18. He celebrated with a swing of his fist. “It meant a lot.

Sometimes when you feel like you are not at your highest level, you also have to be able to win,” he said. “I struggled a little bit to win it and that’s why I showed some emotions out there today,” he added, before passing a couple of Chinese players and exchanging pleasantries — in Chinese.

In the women’s draw, hot favourite Tai recovered from a slow start to book her place in the last eight and a clash with China’s sixth seed He Bingjiao.Tai was behind in the opening exchanges against Zhang Beiwen, the Chinese-born American who needed internet crowd funding to make it to Nanjing. But the 24-year-old Tai’s quality shone through, winning 21-19, 21-14 in 34 minutes.In the pick of the other women’s quarter-finals, India’s Saina Nehwal, a former number one, faces current Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain.