What is Lin Dan's annual salary after retiring from the military with the rank of lieutenant colonel and joining the Sports Bureau?

Lin Dan, the greatest badminton player in China's history—without a doubt—won a total of 66 championship titles from his debut to retirement, including 20 world championships. Lin Dan also holds the record as the player with the most world titles in badminton history, surpassing all others by a wide margin.

Born in 1983, Lin Dan stands at 178 cm tall—a height that was almost universally regarded as ideal for badminton during his era. And indeed, Lin Dan proved through sheer determination that he was practically born to play the sport.

At age 5, Lin Dan began training in badminton, and by 12, his outstanding performance in youth competitions caught the attention of the Bayi Badminton Team, leading to his selection. At just 12, Lin Dan thus embarked on his military sports career. Notably, however, finding the right uniform for him at such a young age proved to be quite a challenge.

At age 12, Lin Dan joined the Bayi Badminton Team, kicking off both his military and professional career. By 17, he had made it to the national team, and in 2002, at just 19, Lin Dan first claimed the world No. 1 ranking—position he would go on to hold for an impressive 219 weeks.

As a two-time Grand Slam winner—having claimed titles at the Olympics, World Championships, World Cup, Sudirman Cup, Thomas Cup, Asian Games, Asian Championships, All England Open, National Games, and multiple BWF Super Series events—Lin Dan has rightfully earned his place as the greatest badminton player in the history of the Badminton World Federation, without a doubt. While with the Bayi Badminton Team, Lin Dan played a pivotal role in helping the squad secure numerous league championships and even clinch the National Games title. Thanks to his outstanding performances, he was also promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

In 2015, driven by the needs of his career development and after careful consideration, Lin Dan ultimately decided to leave the military and transition into civilian life. As soon as the news of his career shift broke, Lin Dan received invitations from sports bureaus across multiple regions. After weighing his options, he eventually joined the Beijing Sports Bureau. But what kind of professional standing and benefits does Lin Dan now enjoy as part of the sports bureau?

Reportedly, Lin Dan chose to transition careers precisely to enjoy greater freedom in his business ventures. That’s why, when he joined the Sports Administration, he didn’t opt for an administrative management position—instead, he selected a career-track athlete role under the institutional staffing system. As a result, Lin Dan currently holds no official administrative rank. In terms of annual salary, he earns between 200,000 and 240,000 yuan per year.

However, clearly Lin Dan doesn’t care about any of that. After retiring, he’s fully committed to advancing his badminton career across the board. Lin Dan’s badminton clubs have already opened in Guangdong’s Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chenzhou, and other cities, while his strategic partnerships with sports bureaus in multiple regions have taken the sport to new heights. Meanwhile, the badminton league personally created by Lin Dan has become one of the country’s top grassroots leagues. And even in his other roles, Lin Dan continues working tirelessly to elevate Chinese badminton. Wishing Lin Dan all the best!