HONG KONG: With a reputation for temper tantrums, supreme confidence and badminton brilliance, Lin Dan is almost certain to steal a share of the limelight at the Beijing Olympics.

World No 1 for the last 20 months straight, Lin Dan is regarded as the king of badminton and China's best chance of gold in an event the Red Army is determined to dominate.

Winning 13 major singles titles in the last two years, including back-to-back world championships, Lin Dan, with a legion of fans behind him, exudes confidence.

His romance with teammate Xie Xingfang, the world's No 1 player on the women's side, has earned them the nickname of badminton's golden couple.

But the 24-year-old has a controversial side which at times has threatened to overshadow his masterful performances on court.
In the lead-up to the Games, Lin Dan has been embroiled in two ugly incidents, the latest prompting calls from some irate fans for his dismissal from the Olympic team.

Lin Dan has apologised for throwing a temper tantrum at a training session in April but denied striking his coach during the outburst.

At the Korean Open final in January, Lin Dan also rushed at the Korean camp after a questionable line call and appeared poised to strike the coach with his racquet before trainers and officials intervened.



Lin Dan shrugs off his reputation as one of the bad boys of badminton, insisting he is misunderstood, and that the media is partly to blame.

"Because it is an Olympic year, there have been some verbal attacks on me and the China team, but that is normal," he said on the sidelines of the recent Thomas Cup.



"A lot of it is the media playing it up," the left-hander said.

He added that being No 1 was tough because everybody wanted to beat him, and upped their game accordingly.



Beaten in the first round at the last Olympics in Athens, Lin Dan, seeded No 1 this time, is determined to make amends on home soil.

Asked who he considered his main threats in Beijing, Lin Dan singled out Malaysian star Lee Chong Wei, Denmark's Peter Gade, defending Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and South Korean duo Park Sung-Hwan and Lee Hyun-Il.

Lin Dan and Indonesia's Taufik, who has his own reputation for fiery outbursts, have a controversial history, and pundits will relish any showdown.

Taufik, seeded seventh for Beijing, branded Lin Dan arrogant at the 2006 Asian Games, prompting Xingfang to defend her boyfriend with some choice words of her own about the Indonesian.

Taufik, who has since insisted he has nothing against the China star, has struggled for form in recent months. But second seed Chong Wei has hit his stride, beating Lin Dan at the Thomas Cup, one of the last major tune-ups for the Games.

Other players expected to threaten Lin Dan include his own teammates, Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin, seeded three and four respectively. -- AFP