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Olympic Outlook: China Looks to Do Better
In the previous two Olympics, the Chinese badminton team has always won more Olympic golds than before. At the Barcelona Games, when badminton first became an Olympic event, the Chinese team did not win a single medal. In the Atlanta Games, the Chinese team won its first gold medal of badminton in Olympic Games. The goal for the Chinese badminton team is to win two gold medals in the upcoming Sydney Games.
The Chinese badminton team's priorities will be in four events: women's doubles, women's singles, mixed doubles and men's singles.
The women's doubles undoubtedly still is Chinese badminton team head coach Li Yongbo's trump card. Ge Fei and Gu Jun, gold medalists in the last Olympic Games, have never lost in international competitions except to their teammates, Yang Wei and Huang Nanyan, in the Japan Open this year. They both share the dream of winning the gold in the Sydney Games. Unless an accident happens, they are expected to win a gold in Sydney.
Their worthy adversaries are their teammates, Yan Wei/Huang Nanyan and Qin Yiyuan/ Gao Leng, who grow more mature every day.
The only ones who could possibly pose a threat to the Chinese team are Koreans Luo Jingmin and Zhen Zaixi. Luo Jingmin, the veteran who entered the finals of last Olympic Games with Zhang Huiyu, is still a serious threat after changing partners. Luo Jingmin and her new partner Zheng Zaixi met Ge Fei and Gu Jun again in the finals of this year's British Open.
The Chinese team is very strong in the women's singles event. The veterans Gong Zhichao and Ye Zhaoying, after losing their rhythm have returned to championship form and won the British badminton competition, Japan Open and Thailand Open in succession. Dai Yun, Gong Ruina and Zhou Mi, the up and coming youngsters, continue to improve and are world class players. But only three of them will participate in the Olympic Games. It will be very difficult for head coach Li Yongbo to decide who to cut.
The Danish badminton player Martin, is considered to be the only obstacle to the Chinese team winning the gold in the women's singles event. She beat Chinese team members to win the gold medal in the World Badminton Championship last year. This success has boosted her confidence greatly and cut the distance between her and the Chinese players. But, this year, she has played only mediocre in several international competitions and lost to Dai Yun, Ye Zhaoying and Gong Zhichao. She only won the Indonesian Open, which members of China's Olympic team didn't participate in.
China's greatest hopes of winning a gold in mixed doubles are on Liu Yong and Ge Fei. They are the "perfect partners" in mixed doubles. Ge Fei's excellent skills in the front of the net and Liu Yong's fierce kill shots from the backcourt often make opponents feel that they are facing two men. The combination of Ge Fei and Liu Yong was undefeated the year before last. Since Liu Yong hurt his elbow, their win-loss record has been seriously affected and they played less than ideal during the last two years. But they are still ranked number two in the world.
Also, Liu Yong and Ge Fei will receive powerful support from their teammates, Zhangjun and Gaoleng, ranked fifth in the world, who have improved quickly have the game to play against the best in the world.
The Chinese team used to be very exciting in the men's singles event. With Sunjun, the champion of the World Badminton Championship last year, Xia Xuanze, the the champion of the Britain Badminton Championship and Ji Xinpeng, another up and coming youngster, no one doubts the Chinese team have the ability to win the gold.
But lately, people have been worried about the Chinese men's singles players. The veteran Sun Jun, still hasn't fully recovered from his injuries and has not trained with the team for a long time. He has dropped to number 70th in the world rankings. He participated in the Thailand and Indonesia Opens and was eliminated early. The youngsters Xia Xuanze and Ji Xinpeng have lost confidence since opponents figured out their game.
There are many worthy opponents in this event: Ye Wancheng from Indonesia, Wang Youfu and Luo Silin from Malaysia, and Chenfeng, the veteran from China Taipei, are all serious threats to the Chinese team.
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