Sabtu, 27 Februari 2010

BAO CHUNLAI
NAME : BAO CHUNLAI
DATE OF BIRTH : CHANGSHA, February 17, 1983
CAREER

The tall, powerful Bao has ranked among the world's leading singles player during the first decade of the 21st century. He has been an especially valuable member of China's world champion Thomas Cup (men's international) teams of 2004, 2006 and 2008, winning a key singles match in the championship round of each contest. Bao has medaled in three of the four BWF World Championships that he has played in, earning a bronze in the 2003 and 2007 editions, and a silver in the 2006 Championships in Madrid, falling to teammate Lin Dan in the final. A frequent finalist in top tier international tournaments, Bao has had some difficulty breaking through in them. Outside of team events, his biggest wins have come in the Denmark (2001), KoreaChina (2007) Opens. His performances in the Olympic Games have been somewhat disappointing. He was beaten in the round of sixteen at the 2004 Athens Olympics and in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

CAI YUN

NAME : CAI YUN
DATE OF BIRTH : SUZHOU, January 19, 1980
CAREER

Combining impressive speed with impressive power Cai and his regular partner Fu Haifeng have been one of the world's leading men's doubles teams since 2004. They have won numerous top tier events on the world circuit including the venerable All England Championship in 2005 and the BWF World Championships in 2006 and 2009. Cai and Fu have played doubles for ChineseThomas Cup teams that have swept the last three editions (2004, 2006, 2008) of this biennial men's world team competition. Cai and Fu competed together in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2004, and in 2008 in Beijing were silver medalists, losing a close final to Indonesia's Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan.

FU HAIFENG
NAME : FU HAIFENG
DATE OF BIRTH : JIEYANG, August 23, 1983
CAREER

Combining impressive speed with impressive power, Fu and his regular partner Cai Yun have been one of the world's leading men's doubles teams since 2004, winning numerous top tier events. These have included the prestigious All-England Championships in 2005, and the BWF World Championships in 2006 and 2009. Fu and Cai have played doubles for Chinese Thomas Cup teams that have captured the last three editions (2004, 2006, 2008) of this biennial men's world team championship. Fu and Cai competed as a team in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2004 competition, and in 2008 were silver medalists, dropping a close final to Indonesia's Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan.

An ancillary badminton achievement of Fu is that while competing in the 2005 Sudirman Cup

(combined men's and women's team championship) one of his smashes was clocked at 332km/h (206 mph), the fastest propulsion of a shuttle on record.

LIN DAN
NAME : LIN DAN
DATE OF BIRTH : LONGYAN, October 14, 1983
CAREER

Lin became one of the dominant players of men's singles, winning nine top tier international championships between 2002 and 2004. In a surprise loss, he was eliminated as the no.1 seed in the first round of the badminton men's singles in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. However, he has continued his dominance in international tournaments and has often been ranked number one in the world since early 2004, although Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia overtook him in 2006 and again in 2009.

Among the tournaments Lin Dan have won are the All-England Open (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009), the BWF World Championships (2006, 2007 and 2009), and the Olympic Games2008). He has helped China win three consecutive Thomas Cup2004, 2006, and 2008 and has also been a major contributor to Chinese teams which won the Sudirman Cup (combined men's and women's team championship) in 2005, 2007 and 2009. ( (men's world team) championships in

2004

By the beginning of 2004, Lin Dan was already world number one at age 20. He started off the year by winning his first All England title by beating Peter Gade of Denmark. He continued to shine as he won the Swiss Open and the Denmark Open by defeating his senior teammate and former world number one Xia Xuanze. He also went on to take the German Open and the China Open, beating his compatriot and good friend Bao Chunlai. In May, Lin Dan also played a major role in bringing the Thomas Cup back to China after a long domination by Indonesia.

2005

In 2005, Lin Dan won his "warm-up" tournament for the All England, the German Open, after beating Malaysia's Muhammad Hafiz Hashim. However he lost his All England title to compatriot Chen Hong. In May 2005, Lin Dan and his compatriots brought back the Sudirman Cup to China, where in 2003 they had lost to South Korea. In August, Lin Dan reached his first World Championship final in Anaheim, USA, but lost to the talented Indonesian, Taufik Hidayat. Even so, he managed to claim more titles at the China Masters and the Hong Kong Open.

2006

Lin Dan started 2006 by recapturing the All England championship by overcoming Lee Hyun-ilChinese Taipei Open, the Macau Open, Hong Kong Open and Japan Open. In September 2006, Lin Dan won his first World Championship by beating fellow compatriot Bao Chunlai in a three game thriller 18–21, 21–17, 21–12. Subsequently, Lin Dan regained his world number one status which had been briefly occupied by Lee Chong Wei. of South Korea. He carried on his reign as the world number one when he swept the

Earlier in May, Lin Dan and his teammates extended China's supremacy in the Thomas Cup event in Tokyo, Japan. Lin Dan beat Peter Gade in the first mens singles match in straight sets 21–17, 21–19 as China shut out Denmark 3–0 in the final.

2007

Lin Dan entered 2007 with a loss at the Malaysia Open, losing to South Korea's Park Sung-hwanKorea OpenChen Jin. He went on to win the German Open and then the All England championships again, crushing compatriot Chen Yu 21–13, 21–12. In June, Lin Dan was part of Team China in the Sudirman Cup, which was held in Glasgow, Scotland. The Chinese team brought home the cup after beating Indonesia 3–0 in the final. Later in the season Lin Dan ousted Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia and became the China's Master champion for 2007. In August, Lin Dan extended his reign as the world champion as he beat Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21–11, 22–20. Lin Dan would become the first man since Yang Yang to win back to ba in the round of 16. The losing streak did not last long as a week later he captured the after defeating his fellow national player

ck world championships.

2008

As every athlete looked forward to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Lin Dan, who was certainly qualified to play, did not begin the year on a strong note: he failed to win either the Malaysian Open or the Korean Open (he was a finalist in the latter). He also lost his All England title to Chen Jin, but then went on to win the Swiss Open.

At the 2008 Thomas Cup, which was held in Jakarta, Lin Dan won every match he played except in the semi-finals where he lost to Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei. Even with his loss, his team advanced to the finals. In the finals, Lin Dan earned a point for China by returning from a first-set loss and overcame Park Sung-Hwan of South Korea 10–21, 21–18, 21–8. China be

at South Korea 3–1 and brought the cup back for the third consecutive time.

Lin Dan did not play in Singapore Open or the Indonesia Open, two Super Series tournaments, because of his intensive training for the Olympic Games. He did, however, play in the Thailand Open Grand Prix as a precursor to the Olympic Games. There, he defeated local favorite Boonsak Ponsana to take the title.

In the Olympic Games, Lin Dan, who was undoubtedly the local hero and heavy favourite, began his gold medal hunt by subduing Hong Kong's Ng Wei 21–16, 21–13 in the round of 32. Next he saw off Park Sung-Hwan 21–11, 21–8, and in the quarter finals, Lin Dan ended veteran Peter Gade's dream of ever winning an Olympic medal as he beat Gade in straight sets. He then faced teammate Chen Jin in the semi-finals and beat him handily in two sets. This vaulted him into the finals where he was set to meet Lee Chong Wei. The dream match had finally come as the World No. 1 and 2 were set to battle it out for badminton's most prestigious title. It was supposed to be a tough match for both players, but Lin Dan grabbed the gold as he overwhelmed the Malaysian in a one-sided two-setter 21–12, 21–8. Lin Dan thus became the first men's singles player ever to win the All England title, two world championship titles,

and the Olympic gold medal.

After a hiatus of almost four months, Lin Dan came back in November from a post-Olympic break and played in the China Open Super Series. He again met Lee Chong Wei in the finals and won by the scores of 21–18, 21–9 with the second set almost identical to their match in the Beijing Games. In late November he faced Chen Jin in the finals of the Hong Kong Super Series but lost 9–21, 21–9, 17–21.

Even though Lin Dan only competed in 5 Super Series events that year, he had enough points to qualify for the BWF Super Series Masters Finals being held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.[4] However, Lin Dan did not participate in the tournament because the Chinese team did not send any representatives.

2009

Lin Dan won the 2009 All-England men's singles,

beating Lee Chong Wei 21–19, 21–12. The first set was a thriller and Lin Dan's unforced errors gave the World No. 1 Lee a lead, although "Super Dan" came back in style to take the set and then cruised in the second to win the match. A mere week later, however, he was beaten by Lee in the final of the Omega European Masters (Swiss Open in Basel) 21–16, 21–16.

In May, Lin Dan was part of Team China in the Sudirman Cup, which was held in Guangzhou, China. He played for China team in every match and won all of them, including the semi-finals against Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei with, ironically, the exact same score-line of 21/16 – 21/16 when Lee Chong Wei beat Lin Dan in the Swiss Open final. This was also the first time Lin Dan beat Lee Chong Wei in a team event. The Chinese team proved too strong for other teams by sweeping the competition at home, with all their players undefeated, with 21 matches won and none lost.

In August, Lin became the first player to win three straight World Championships, when he beat compatriot Chen Jin 21–18, 21–16 in

45 minutes at the final of 2009 World Championships in Hyderabad, India.


ZHENG BO

NAME : ZHENG BO
DATE OF BIRTH : HUNAN, November 26, 1983
CAREER

A doubles specialist, Zheng won men's doubles at the 2003 Indonesia Open with Sang Yang. Zheng and Sang also secured the winning point against Denmark in the final of the 2004 Thomas Cup, to clinch China's1990. Most of his international titles, however, have come in mixed doubles. Zheng won the 2002 French Open Zhang Yawen and the 2006 Hong Kong Open with Zhao Tingting. His other mixed doubles titles, all in partnership with doubles maestro Gao Ling, include the 2006 Asian Games, the 2007 China Masters, the prestigious All-England Championships in both 2007 and 2008; and the Japan (2007), German (2007), Korea (2007), Malaysia (2007), and Indonesia (2007, 2008) Opens. Zhang and Gao were silver medalists behind Indonesia's Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir at the 2007 BWF World Championships in Kuala Lumpur. They were upset in the round of 16 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by former world champions Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms. first men's world team title since

Jumat, 26 Februari 2010

WANG YIHAN

NAME : WANG YIHAN
DATE OF BIRTH : SHANGHAI, JANUARY 18,1988
CAREER

Wang appears to be one of China's rising badminton stars. She won girl's singles at both the Asian Junior and the World Junior Championships in 2006. In open international competition she captured the Badminton World Cup in 2006, and the Bitburger and Russian Opens in 2007. In September of 2008 she defeated the Chinese-Hong Kong "veteran" Zhou Mi in the final of the Japan Open. The tourney is one of the Badminton World Federation's Super Series events which carry the highest level of prize money in the sport. In 2009 she won the Yonex German Open Zhu Lin, and just one week later, at the age of 21, the prestigious All-England Championships against Denmark's Tine Rasmussen. Wang then went on to win the Wilson Swiss Open against compatriot Jiang Yanjiao (21-17, 17-21, 21-13). Wang won the Macau Open for the first time in August 2009 when she again beat Jiang Yanjiao (16-21, 22-20, 21-12). In September 2009, Wang won her second YONEX Open Japan title by beating Wang Xin (21-8, 21-9). Wang then won the French Super Series in November when she emphatically beat top seed, and defending champion, Wang Lin (21-9, 21-12). Wang won her second title in a row, and her 5th BWF Super Series tournament of the year, when she beat Jiang Yanjiao (21-13, 21-15) in the Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open . This was also her 7th title overall in 2009.

ZHU LIN
NAME : ZHU LIN
DATE OF BIRTH : SHANGHAI, April 30, 1984
CAREER

One of international badminton's leading singles players Zhu Lin's titles include the Thailand (2006, 2007), Indonesia (2006, 2008), and Malaysia (2007) Opens, and, most notably, the 2007 BWF World Championship in Kuala Lumpur. She is a member of China's perennial world champion Uber Cup team. Curiously, despite her status as the then reigning world champion, she was not selected to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, a victim of China's great depth in women's badminton and rules which limit the number of entrants from any one country.

ZHOU MI

NAME : ZHOU MI
DATE OF BIRTH : GUANG
XI, February 18, 1979
CAREER

Since 1998 Zhou has won more than twenty international singles titles on the world circuit and has achieved number one world rankings at various times. She was a silver medalist behind compatriot Gong Ruina at the 2001 IBF World Championships and was a bronze medalist at the 2003 Championships. She won women's singles at the quadrennial Asian Games in 2002, defeating Gong Ruina in the final. Zhou is a three time finalist at the prestigious All-England Championships where she captured the title in 2003. She played singles for world champion Chinese Uber Cup (women's international) teams in 2002 and 2004.

Olympic Controversy

At the 2004 Athens Olympics Zhou reached the semifinal round where she was eliminated from gold medal contention by fellow countrywoman Zhang Ning. She then defeated Gong Ruina in the playoff for the bronze medal. The circumstances behind Zhou's semifinal defeat are controversial, however, because China's national coach Li Yongbo later confirmed rumors that he had instructed Zhou not to fight hard after she had dropped the first game to Zhang. His rationale was that a fresh Zhang Ning would have a better chance to defeat a non-Chinese opponent, the Netherlands' Mia Audina, in the final.

"Retirement" and comeback

Whether the Olympic episode or subsequent injury and poor performance was the primary cause, Zhou apparently retired from badminton during the 2005 season. She played no tournaments in 2006 but secured residence in Hong Kong through its Quality Migration program. Zhou then reemerged on the world badminton circuit during the 2007 season.From a weak start at the Singapore Open her results dramatically improved to the point where she had regained a number one world ranking as of the end of the year 2008. Since launching her comeback Zhou's titles have included the New Zealand and Philippines Opens in 2007, and the Korea, India, Macau Opens, and China Masters in 2008. In December, Zhou ended the 2008 season by winning the BWF Super Series Masters Finals, the biggest prize money event in the sport.

ZHANG NING

NAME : ZHANG NING
DATE OF BIRTH : JINZHOU, 19 May, 1975
CAREER
2003

Although she had previously won a number of international open titles dating from the mid 1990s, Zhang's breakthrough as a dominant player on the world circuit came in the 2003 IBF World Championships, where she stormed into the final. There, 28-year old Zhang Ning defeated compatriot Gong Ruina easily 11-6, 11-3.

2004

The following year, Zhang played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics for China. In women's singles, she defeated Marina Andrievskaya of Sweden and Kelly Morgan of Great Britain in the first two rounds. In the quarterfinals, Zhang beat Wang Chen of Hong Kong 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 to advance to the semifinals. There, she defeated countrywoman Zhou Mi 11-6, 11-4. Zhang defeated {Indonesia]]'s Mia Audina 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 in the final to win the gold medal. It was sweet revenge for the 29 year-old, who had lost to Audina 10 years earlier in the decisive match of the Uber Cup. With her Olympic win, she became one of three singles players in the world to win the World Championship and the Olympic Games (in either order) in successive years, the others being Susi Susanti and Taufik Hidayat.

2005

Zhang also claimed many titles after her breakthrough wins. She bested Xie Xingfang in the 2005 China Open 3-11, 11-4, 11-8, but in the 2005 World Champion

ships final Zhang fell to Xie Xingfang, 8-11, 11-9, 3-11.

2006

In 2006, Zhang reached the finals of the World Championships yet again, but she was still unable to defeat Xingfang. This time, she lost 16-21, 14-21. However, Zhang claimed revenge in the Japan Open, defeating Xingfang 21-11, 16-21, 30-29. This was the 19th time they've met in an international tournament, with the head-to-head tied at 9-9. Zhang also became the first women's singles player to win a game in international competition with a score of 30-29. During this year the well known Dutch documentary filmmaker Roel van Dalen made the documentary film 'Olympic Journey - The Road to Beijing' on the life of Zhang Ning, which was broadcast on television worldwide.

2007

In 2007, Zhang won her fifth Singapore Open title in six times, beating Xingfang 21-18, 19-21, 21-3. In the World Championships, Xingfang was defeated in the third round by Malaysian Wong Mew Choo, making Zhang a favourite for the title. However, she was stopped in the semi-finals by Wang Chen. This was the second time Wang Chen had beaten her in 2007, after the Indonesian Open. Zhang's compatriot Zhu Lin went on to beat Wang in the final 21-8, 21-12. In the Beijing Good Luck Invitational tournament, Zhang reached the semi-finals to face Zhu Lin but pulled out due to injury.

In the Danish Open, she reached the final, but lost 17-21, 14-21 to compatriot Lu Lan due to a thigh injury. Zhang also reached the semi-finals of the French Open, but was upset was local hope Pi Hongyan.

In the China Open,

Zhang lost in straight sets to Malaysia's Wong Mew Choo in the semi-finals. Zhang cited injury and fatigue as the main reason for her loss.

2008

Zhang's 2008 season started with a first round loss in the Malaysian Open. She was seen coaching her younger teammates in the tournament as well. In the Korean Open, she lost to her former compatriot, Zhou Mi, in the quarter-final. Zhou now plays for Hong Kong. In the All England, Zhang and Xie, the top 2 seeds, lost in the first round. This is probably the first time that the top 2 seeds lost in the first round of the All England. However they both bounced back strongly in the Swiss Open to reach the final, for their 22nd international meeting. To be in the final was a relief for Zhang who had failed to get past the quarter finals in three previous tournaments. Still, Xie beat Zhang 21-18, 21-17, bringing their head to head stands to 11:11.

Later, at the Beijing Olympic Games, Zhang progressed to the quarter-final after overcoming South Korean Jun Jae Youn in the third round. She then subdued fifth-seeded Pi Hongyan of France and Indonesia's Maria Kristin Yulianti 21-15, 21-15 to reach the final. There she faced compatriot and world number 1 Xie Xingfang and won in a tough three-setter, 21-12, 10-21, 21-18, to extend her gold medal reign. Zhang became the first badminton player to ever defend an Olympic singles title even though many questioned her ability to do so at the age of 33. She was additionally chosen to represent China as the flag bearer for the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.

XIE XIN FANG

NAME : XIE XIN FANG

DATE OF BIRTH : GUANGZHOU, January 8, 1981
CAREER

XIE XIN FANG Is first big title was in girl's doubles, with her provincial team mate Zhang Jiewen, at the World Junior Championships in 1998. Yet once she entered the Chinese national team, she switched to singles. 2004 was her "break-out" year as she won several top tier titles on the world circuit. Xie and her senior compatriot and rival Zhang Ning have been the most dominant women's singles players of the mid to late part of the decade, though they have been pressed by younger teammates such as Zhu Lin, Lu Lan, Jiang Yanjiao and Wang Yihan. Not an especially elegant looking stylist, Xie's strengths have been her combination of reach, quickness, consistency, and court sense. She has contributed victories to China's last three Uber Cup (women's world team championship and trophy) winning campaigns.

Xie is currently in a relationship with fellow Chinese badminton player Lin Dan. Xie Xingfang and Lin Dan made a romantic moment when both won the World Championship 2006 in Madrid. Xie had also won the world title in 2005 when her boyfriend Lin finished second to Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat.

On October 15, 2009 was her last appearance as a player on court on the Chinese National Games.

LU LAN

NAME : LU LAN

DATE OF BIRTH : CHANGZHOU, May 2, 1987

CAREER

In 2004 she won the Polish Open. In 2006 she won the Korea Open and finished the year in the 5th position in the BWF World Ranking.

In 2007 she won the Denmark Super Series, and was a bronze medalist at the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, losing to the eventual champion Zhu Lin in the semifinals. In November of that year she reached the third place in the BWF World Ranking.

In 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, she lost to Xie Xingfang 21-7, 10-21, 12-21 in the semi-finals and was then upset by Maria Kristin Yulianti from Indonesia 21-11, 13-21, 15-21 in the bronze medal match. Earlier in 2008 she had reached the final of the prestigious All-England Championships where she lost a very close match to Denmark's Tine Rasmussen.

In 2009, she achieved her greatest success to date when she won the 2009 BWF World Championship Women's Singles title in Hyderabad, India. The match was against compatriot, and two times winner of the event (2005 and 2006), Xie Xingfang; winning in two straight games 23-21, 21-12.