win the Olympic gold as a first seed. Not back in action until the China Open in November, Lin again beat Lee in the final, before losing to Chen Jin once again in the Hong Kong Open. Lin was eligible to participate in the lucrative Masters Finals in December, but due to the withdrawal of the whole Chinese contingent (citing weariness and injuries), he didn't take part in the tournament. 2009 In March, at his first tournament appearance of 2009, Lin won his fourth All England title without dropping a game, defeating Lee Chong Wei in the final. After this dominant performance, he lost to Lee in the final of Swiss Open a week later. In May, Lin participated in the Sudirman Cup helping China to consecutive 5–0 victories over England, Japan, and Indonesia. In the semifinals against Malaysia Lin defeated Lee Chong Wei in straight games as China advanced to the final against South Korea with another shutout. In the last round the same form held true as Lin beat Park Sung-hwan thus helping China to secure the Cup for the third time in a row, and each time without dropping a match in the series. During the rest of 2009 Lin dropped only two matches; in June in the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open, and, perhaps most surprisingly, in the finals of December's East Asian Games in Hong Kong to South Korea's little known Choi Ho-jin. Aside from those upsets, Lin dominated. In August in Hyderabad he became the first player to win the World Championships three times by beating compatriot Chen Jin in the final. Later Dan would go on to win his fourth China Masters title and first French Open title. He ended his tournament winning streak in November with the China Open title before the late-year upset loss in Hong Kong. 2010 After starting the season disappointingly with quarterfinal losses at both the All England and Swiss Opens, Lin won his first title of the year at the Badminton Asia Championships in New Delhi, which also marked his first victory at this annual event. Taking part in his fifth Thomas Cup campaign for China in May, Lin won a pair of hard fought encounters with South Korea's Park Sung-hwan in the group ties and the quarterfinals respectively. In the semifinals, he handily defeated Lee Chong Wei in contributing to China's 3-0 victory over Malaysia and