No Lin Dan in Singapore and Indonesia after all

The long story between Lin Dan and Singapore took another turn when the two-time Olympic champion withdrew from the event. According to the Straits Times, the China Badminton Association notified the organizers on Thursday night but there was no official reason given for the pull-out. Lin Dan was actually booed by Singapore fans the last time he came to the city-state, when he had come to apologize on court after handing over the final to his compatriot Chen Jin in the 2011 edition, citing illness.

According to other sources in China, the Chinese star has also withdrawn from the Superseries Premier event in Indonesia to be held next week, which will be good news for Taufik Hidayat, who was supposed to play the Chinese in the first round, were Lin to have come through the qualifying rounds.

“I injured myself during the Badminton Asia Championship and have not fully recovered. After playing the preliminary rounds of the China National Games, I found myself not in the best condition for tournaments and I want to focus on recuperating myself for the World Championship in August,” said Lin Dan to the Singapore organizers.