Player Attributes

Lin Dan is a left-handed player whose most defining characteristic is his ability to attack with fast smashes at steep angles. He combines quick movements around the court with the ability to maintain long aggressive rallies to win the majority of his matches. He is confident in diving to retrieve his opponents attacking shots with an exceptionally fast recovery. His well built physique helps him to produce powerful straight and cross court jump smashes, and his dynamic penetrating footwork makes him one of the toughest active badminton players in the open circuit. At one time he was criticized for a lack of precision or refinement, especially when compared to competitors such as Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade, although Lin is now adept at using deceptive wrist movements to create winning shots. He sometimes struggles to put sufficient pace back on the shuttle when his opponent reduces it with an overhead shot. Other criticisms are in his slight lapses of concentration during crucial stages of a game.