Dan’s the man as Evans falls short

IT isn’t often that the man considered by many to be the greatest badminton player in the history of the sport finds himself struggling to win the affection of a crowd.

But yesterday was one of those rare days for Lin Dan at the Wembley Arena when he began his Olympic singles title defence against Ireland’s Scott Evans.

Dan may have steamrolled over the Dubliner (21-8, 21-14) but the Chinese superstar was taken aback by the support for the underdog.