NAME : WANG YIHANDATE OF BIRTH : SHANGHAI, JANUARY 18,1988
DATE OF BIRTH : SHANGHAI, April 30, 1984
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.
NAME : ZHOU MI
DATE OF BIRTH : GUANGXI, February 18,
1979Since 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
DATE OF BIRTH : JINZHOU, 19 May, 1975
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
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.