Lin Dan to skip international matches in 2013

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Lin Dan to skip international matches in 2013

(Xinhua) 08:22, September 12, 2013

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Lin Dan celebrates after winning the men's singles at the 12th Chinese National Games, in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, Sept 11, 2013. (Photo/Xinhua)

Badminton superstar Lin Dan announced to skip all international events on the 2013 calendar after winning his third straight National Games singles title on Wednesday.

"I don't need to prove myself through competition anymore," said Lin, who beat world No. 3 Du Pengyu 21-18, 21-5 in the final.

Lin, who just made a successful return to action at the Guangzhou world championships, said he will return to China's national team in February 2014.

"I hope to spend more time with my family," he said. "I want to enjoy the life."

"But I will play for the national badminton league which starts this October," he added.

Lin, who represents the People's Liberation Army (PLA), had also won the gold medals in the 2005 and 2009 National Games. This year, he led the PLA to win their first bronze medal in men's team event.

"I feel very proud of that. It's my fourth National Games. I entered the finals all the time and took third consecutive crown today," said Lin, who took the badminton world title for the fifth time last month after one year off since the London Olympics.

"The gold medals from world championships and National Games prove the efficiency of my daily training," added Lin.

Despite some impressive smashes and delicate touches close to the net, Du found it hard to make an impression on the agile opponent as Lin scored four points in a row after 16-15 and took the first set 21-18.

In the second set, Du was struggling to keep up with the speed, while Lin injected pace and attacking play with jump slashes and unreachable shots down the lines, eventually securing the victory 21-5.

Back to the court after one-year absence, Lin still seems unbeatable, however he didn't agree on that.

"I never think that I have no opponent, otherwise I would not train so hard everyday," he said. "Perhaps people only see me standing on the podium, but they know little about my hard training."