China's temperamental world No 1 badminton player Lin Dan once again failed to control his emotions during his Korea Open Super Series final loss to Lee Hyun-il on Sunday, but he blamed his outburst on his compatriot Li Mao, the coach of South Korea men's team.
"I was provoked by his verbal insults and I could not control myself at that time," Lin told CCTV yesterday.
Dubbed "Super Dan" by Chinese fans, Lin is one of the most popular players in the nation thanks to his spectacular skills, his high-profile romance, and his straightforward personality.
The mouthwatering final, which hometown ace Lee won 4-21, 23-21, 25-23, was marred by controversial line calls and climaxed with a heated exchange between Lin and Li that threatened to spiral out of control.
"He was talking and shouting endlessly at my back while I was competing," Lin said. "After the last controversial call, he was even verbally attacking the Chinese team with dirty words. So I chose to fight back."
The clash broke out after a shuttle from Lee seemed to have gone out from Lin's baseline, but was called in by the line judge.
As the umpire was unsighted, the line judge's decision stood and it proved to be the turning point as it brought match point to the Korean, 21-20.
Lin complained to the umpire as he approached the chair. As he neared the coaches' chairs, the video review showed, Li clearly said some things that Lin Dan didn't like.
Lin suddenly lost his temper and raised his racket toward Li, leading to a shouting match between Lin, Li and Zheng Bo, Lin's coach.
Lin's emotions carried onto the court, where he lost his composure a few minutes later as he watched Lee convert his third match point to win 25-23.
Li, who left in 1999 to pursue an overseas coaching career after an acrimonious split with current Chinese head coach Li Yongbo, accused Lin of being "rude and immoral" immediately after the clash.
"He picked up the racket and threw it toward me. It's rude and immoral. I have never seen such an ill-cultivated player in my coaching career," said a furious Li. "I was so angry at that time. I pointed my finger at him and questioned him 'You want to beat me, right?'.
"During the clash, his coach Zheng also rushed forward and pushed me. I also pushed back and everything was in a mess."
Li also said the Korean team will file a complaint with Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's governing body, about Lin's attack.
But Lin, still China's top favorite to win back Olympic men's singles gold after failure in Athens four years ago, said the fracas was never in danger of getting physical.
"It's a long distance between him and me. It's impossible to throw a racket or have physical clashes," he said.
