'Proud' badminton legends Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan inducted into BWF Hall of Fame: 'There has not been a rivalry like ours'
The two newest additions to the BWF Hall of Fame, who have five Olympic medals and 11 World Championship medals between them, reflected on their long-standing rivalry: “We always wanted to beat each other and that encouraged both of us to improve," said Lee during a press conference.
Badminton
Two of badminton’s biggest stars of their generation, Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan, received the ultimate honour of the sport on Friday (26 May) as they were inducted into the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Hall of Fame at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia.
It's another title they can add to their already impressive list of accolades.
Lee has collected 69 career titles and holds the record for most weeks spent as the world number one: 349 weeks. The 40-year-old shuttler is also the most decorated Malaysian Olympic athlete with his three silver medals.
“Being in the Hall of Fame is good for me and my career. I hope it can encourage more young players and show them that if they work hard, they can also be elected for the Hall of Fame,” Lee said at Friday’s press conference.
Lin of People’s Republic of China is a two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion.
Throughout his 20 year-long career, Lee won 66 tournaments, including the All England Open six times.
“I feel very, very proud to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. I am very lucky with all I have achieved,” Lin said during the press conference.
Lee Chong Wei vs Lin Dan: A historic rivalry
During their careers, Lee and Lin have met each other on the badminton court 40 times between 2004 and 2018. The 'Lee-Lin rivalry' was considered to be one of the biggest in the sport.
“There has not been a rivalry like ours over the past twenty years, and we always matched each other at the top tournaments,” Lin claimed.
“We always wanted to beat each other and that encouraged both of us to improve. I knew that I always had to beat Lin Dan to be a champion,” added Lee.
Lin holds the upper hand, having won 28 out of their 40 meetings. They met twice in the final of the Olympic Games, with the Chinese shuttler coming out on top in both occasions. However, the Malaysian pulled off one of his greatest career victories at Rio 2016, when he defeated his archrival in the semi-finals after three hard-fought games.
In 2020, at the age of 37, Lin announced his retirement after struggling with pain and injuries.
Lee, on the other hand, had hung up his racket one year before after being diagnosed with nose cancer.