Lin Dan was the only high-profile badminton player at the Olympic test event. (Photo : Getty Images)
Chinese badminton champion Lin Dan said that the badminton venue of the upcoming Rio Olympics could be the most special among all previous Olympic venues after he participated in the first round of the Olympic badminton test event on Tuesday.
Lin, who is currently ranked as the third best player in the world, is the only well-known player at the Olympic test event, referred to as the Brazil Grand Prix, with all the other players being significantly younger and lower-ranked.
"I felt very tired after flying for almost one day long to Rio," Lin said at a press conference. "The reason to come here is hoping to know more about the Rio Olympics, such as the venue and climate."
The two-time Olympic and five-time world champion was able to defeat Brazilian Igor Ibrahim in only 22 minutes at the Riocentro venue in Rio's west, the exact same venue for the Olympic badminton event in 2016.
What surprised Lin about the venue was that it had much fewer stands compared with other venues used in high-level badminton matches.
"When I come to the venue, I feel surprised," said Lin. "For me it could be the most special one among all Olympic venues, because there are not so many stands. I don't know whether it will have more stands next year."
The badminton venue currently only has a seating capacity of no more than 500. It only has a temporary stand of five layers.
The secretary-general of the World Badminton Federation, Thomas Lund, came to the defense of the venue.
"We are progressing with the preparation. It would be different because a stand with 7,000 seating capacity will be built next year around the field of play. After that the venue will look exactly the same as we have in Beijing and London Olympics," said Lund.
Lund added that the purpose of the event is to test things that people do not easily see, like the lighting, field of play and air conditioning.
