The goal scoring exploits of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, the hegemony of the 'Big 3' ('Federer-Nadal-Djokovic) at Grand Slams or the sheer dominance of Usain Bolt at the sprint events in world athletics are notable examples of the same.
Badminton for long played second fiddle to its more fancied racquet sport Lawn Tennis. While the Federers, Nadals and Djokivic rose to become global sporting icons, a Chinese shuttler etched his own name and stamped his authority as one of the global sporting icons not only in Asia but the entire planet. It was none other than the high flying all conquering Chinese badminton superstar Lin Dan.
From being dubbed as the bad boy of international badminton due to his fiery nature and rather outlandish antics on court, the military man shed that unwanted image and became popularly nicknamed as 'Super Dan', humbling the world with a glittering career which ended with all the boxes ticked in terms of professional accomplishment.
A 2-time Olympic Gold medalist, 5-time World Champion, 2-time World Cup Winner, 66 Singles Titles and 666 Career Wins on the BWF tour make 'Super Dan' the most dominant badminton singles champion of his era and perhaps the greatest men's badminton player of all time.
Though his stellar achievements are nothing short of staggering, Dan's exploits become more meaningful when we consider the golden era in which he competed against some of the very best at the very pinnacle of the sport. Dan's legendary rivarly with Malaysia's shuttler great Lee Chong Wei is stuff of legends. The two greats featured in some of the most pulsating and epic finals at the Olympics and World Championships with Dan prevailing over his arch rival at the big stage.
Besides Chong Wei, Dan was also challenged to the hilt at major events by two other world class shuttlers in Peter Gade and Taufik Hidayat, who were also at the peaks of their prowess during Dan's decade-long purple run on the court.
Dan's lob-sided win record over Chong Wei (28-12), Taufiq Hidayat (13-4) Peter Gade (17-4) is a testament of how dominant the Chinese was against the best in the league.
It was never a walk in the park for Dan to ascend, retain and extend his stature as the dominant Numero Uno shuttler at the prime of his career, he faced stiff competition from top class shuttlers like - Chen Long, Bao Chunai, Chen Jin (China), Kenichi Tago and Sho Sasaki (Japan), Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Tommy Sugiarto and Simon Santoso (Indonesia), Son Wan Ho and Park Sung-hwan(Korea), Pullela Gopichand (India), Boonsak Ponsana (Thailand), Hans-Kristian Vittinghus and Jan Ø. Jørgensen (Denmark) and Nguyễn Tiến Minh (Vietnam) [All Top Ten Shuttlers On BWF Tour From 2000-2015]
With the rise of the generation next, who were rightly hailed as the heir apparent to Dan and Chong Wei's legacy, the Chinese great over the 30-age mark was second best to Kento Momota, Shi Yuqi, Victor Axelsen,Chou Tien-chen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Jonatan Christie Anthony Ginting at the continental showpiece events and Super Series events.
With the turn of the new millennium, Dan spearheaded the resurgence of China to the very top in world badminton and dethroned arch rivals Indonesia from their long standing domination all through the 90s.
Dan was the poster boy of a world class Chinese team that was spoilt for choices with a spree of Olympic and World Championship medalists in Xia Xuanze, Chen Long, Chen Jin, Bao Chunlai, Chen Hong and Du Pengyu. While Dan racked up Super Series titles, he also spearheaded China to six Thomas Cup titles, besides being part of 5 victorious Sudiraman Cup campaigns.
He also served as the role model for youngsters like Tian Houwei and Wang Zhengming and Shi Yuqi, all of whom went onto become champions in their own merit.
After ruling men's badminton for almost a decade and a half and achieving the 'Super Slam', Lin Dan drew the curtains to a glittering career with was studded with achievements and accolades. Lin Dan just does not go down as arguably the greatest singles male badminton player there has ever has been, but also one of the most loved, revered and admired sporting icons to come out of China.