Lin Dan's genius is that he makes the game look easy

A lot of things cannot be explained when it comes to Lin Dan. As his fans will tell you, it’s simply ‘Lin’sane! He walks on the court with the majesty of a tiger. He has the attitude of a dragon - and the fire spewing is in form of his incredible smashes. He has the control of an archer with his precise strokes. His court craft akin to a chess grandmaster. His explosiveness like fireworks with leaps in the air resulting in varied, beautiful stroke designs. But ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ cliches aside, this guy is just too good. If a lay man were to watch him play, he would probably think that this sport is quite easy. After all, he walks even during the rallies (even as his opponents are scrambling). It seems like he has all the time in the world to weigh his options, select and then execute his shots. He’s rarely out of breath even after playing for 90 minutes and through the match, he rarely makes unforced errors. It seems effortless. Easy. [caption id=“attachment_1026349” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Lin Dan’s genius can’t be explained. Reuters[/caption] But is it actually that easy? Badminton is the fastest racket sport in the world. (At these World Championships the fastest smash has been 277mph). So to play at these speeds, you need to have that kind of power in your legs to reach the shuttle early coupled with hand speed that can react to the shuttle moving so quickly. You need the stamina of a middle distance runner with the explosiveness of a sprinter. You need the suppleness and flexibility of a gymnast to pivot and change direction for the deceptive shots. To add to all that, at that speed, you need to be able to control a delicate shuttlecock that weighs approximately 5 grams in different court conditions where the shuttle can move in erratic ways. Due to this requirement of speed and control, each minute movement of your body counts. Hence, correct footwork and body positioning become of utmost important. Lin Dan’s technique and positioning is picture perfect. Before each stroke, he gets his body into position to execute the stroke in the most efficient manner. When he leaps up in the air, there is no predicting which stroke he would make thus keeping the opponent guessing all the time. And it seems in his mind, he has already thought out not only the next shot but the next 2-3 shots thus taking charge of the rally. His stroke selection is another distinguishing factor. He senses the opponents body movements and uses the double-action flick shots and acute angles shots to great effect. This anticipation and foresight is incredible and comes from a deep understanding of the game. The men’s singles game has evolved to one of tremendous power and speed. Leaps and dives have turned these players into semi-acrobats. Though Lin Dan is proficient in playing the fast and furious game, he is as capable of displaying the toss-drop conventional game too. With the pace of the rally being set by him, he constructs each point in such a way that each rally has a new tale to tell. His coach once commented that Lin Dan sees the court differently from all other players. No wonder, in 9 years at the top of the badminton world, no one has been able to decipher the game pattern of this genius. His attitude and personality also set him apart. Unlike most Chinese players, he is not afraid to show his emotions. His fist pumps accentuate the tattoos on his arms and the different hairstyles make him look roguishly handsome. This makes Lin Dan a complete package. A genius with a personality - an icon that a sport like badminton has sought for many years. While other champions are proficient in one or two departments of the game such as speed, stamina, technique, guile, winning power, Lin Dan has all this and then some. The fact that he took a 10-month break from badminton since he won his second Olympic gold in August 2012 in London has absolutely no effect on his form. Presently ranked 286 in the world, he was a wild card entrant into the World Championships this week in Guangzhou and ended up winning his 5th World Championship crown. It doesn’t add up, does it - welcome to Lin’sanity!