China: In the China Masters GP Gold that began on Wednesday, April 16, two time Olympic gold medalist, world No. 103 Lin Dan has stolen the spotlight in his return to competitive badminton with an impressive victory over world No. 126 Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand, 21-12 21-12 in just 36 minutes.
Thammasin showed promise at the start of first set by winning the first 2 points of the set, one with a lucky net shot and another with a cross court smashing; however, Lin Dan spent the next 5 minutes trashing the Thai player by widening his lead at 11-4, and then took the first set 21-12 in 16 minutes.
Second set was the repeat of first set, where Lin Dan was leading 11-4, and eventually Thammasin ran out of steam against the Chinese. Lin then took the game with 21-12 and eased into second round.
Lin Dan will face Taiwan’s Hsu Shao Wen in the second round.
