The crowd became fanatic in Wembley Arena Monday afternoon when he marched onto the court. A drop shot after a smash, Chinese pin-up Lin Dan impressed audience with his first Olympic show in London.

Lin's opponent, Scott Evans from Ireland, appeared quite aggressive at the beginning of the first game, going all out to save each smash and catching the world No. 1 shuttler in a sitzkrieg. Their scores rose from 1-1 to 4-4. But he made mistakes from time to time in net shot, while Lin was gaining better form, beating the 25-year-old Irish 21-8.

When the second game started, Lin began making mistakes, and was once 1-5 behind. But the world's 76th ranked player failed to cash in on the chance. With his last shot wide out, his road to men's singles podium was blocked. 21-14, Lin advanced to the round of 16 as expected.

CHEERS FOR EVANS

Although Evans was defeated, he won applause from spectators, even Chinese, for his persistence.

"He is quite a good player, although less known to many people. He receives training together with top players in Denmark," Lin Dan said after the competition. He has played with Evans for three times. "Last year I met him in the world championships, and it was a tough battle."

Apparently disappointed, Evans said he was nervous in the performance. "I couldn't get into the game," he said. "I went for the attack too early. I was making terrible decisions at the front of the court. I have prepared so well for this, but nothing went my way today."

The quarter-finalist at 2010 European Championships even had more supporters in the arena than Lin. "When I looked back to see my brother shouting for me, I wanted to cry," he said.

Earlier Evans had told media that he would enjoy the match even if he "broke a leg on the court".

"He is a great champion, the best ever. He's way ahead of Roger Federer," said the Irish player in green T-shirt. "You hate him when you're playing him, but he's a really nice guy. He's unbelievable. he makes no errors. When he plays down the line it's absolutely straight on the line."

LIN'S SUPPORT AND DREAM

Lin Dan is arguably one of the best players in the world. By the age of 28, he had completed the "Super Grand Slam", with all nine major titles in world badminton in pocket.

Monday's competition was watched by many Chinese spectators as well, who, in red shirts, waving the national flag of China and shouting after each point Lin scored.

Among the crowd were Lin's parents and his wife Xie Xingfang who popped up as a surprise to the defending Olympic champion. Previously an ace player herself, Xie watched nervously, while her in-laws were more relaxed.

"We were nervous as well seeing him playing in the past," said the soft-spoken Lin Jianbin, a retired driver, to Xinhua. "I hope he could lay down all the burden and enjoy the process of Olympic competition."

In fact, that is just what Lin wanted in London.

"Every player wants the gold medal but it is not my only goal. This is different from how I felt in 2008," he said. "I hope through my personal effort, I could affect more people and attract them to get involved in playing badminton."

Getting nervous was inevitable, he added. "You are nervous because you want to do well. I will take each and every competition seriously and hopefully my form could last till the end."