With the added pressure on top of the usual nerves, Lin watered down her routine and failed to medal during the uneven bars final.
After the Olympics, Lin was not chosen for any Grand Prix events, but competed at the 2004 World Cup Final on the uneven bars and finished 6th.
After a disappointing year in 2004, Lin also failed to win any medals at the 2005 Chinese National Championships.
Lin Li proved her critics wrong and was last seen competing at the 2005 Australia VS China Dual Meet.
In October, she helped the Guizhou provincial team to a sixth-place finish at the Tenth National Games, competing watered-down routines on the vault, uneven bars, and balance beam.