CHINESE badminton superstar Lin Dan was named the Guangzhou Asian Games most valuable player (MVP) on Friday.

    The popular 27-year-old claimed the last major title to elude him by defeating Malaysian world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei in the final.

    He is already a three-time world champion and the current Olympic champion.

    Lin received the award after collecting the highest number of votes from more than 2,000 accredited media attending the Games.

    The MVP was selected by world media through voting from Nov. 22 to 25 by more than 2,000 media staff. Five athletes with the most votes became the candidates, including Lin, Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, swimmer Sun Yang, Tang Yi and Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan.

    At the presentation ceremony Friday, Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Olympic Committee Liu Baoli received the award (the MVP Trophy, a Samsung 3D LED Television and US$50,000) on behalf of Lin Dan, who is under closed-door training for the China Open.

    Manuel Silverio, chairman of the Asiad media committee, said: “We are delighted to present this trophy to Lin Dan, taking his excellent performance into consideration during the Asian Games. He is tenacious, strong-minded and determined to pursue sportsmanship and has presented a perfect performance as an athlete.”

    Lin won two gold medals at the Guangzhou Asian Games. The victory marked his achievement of a badminton Grand Slam with wins in all the world’s top competitions, including the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Suriman Cup, Thomas Cup and Asian Games.

    (SD-Xinhua)