Event |
Badminton
Single
|
Sex |
Male |
Born |
Jun
1975 |
Birthplace |
Jiangsu |
Height |
174cm |
Weight |
73kg
|
|
Sun Jun holds
the winning edge over his main rival atop men's badminton, but he
would be the last person to take a gold medal for granted. Not after
the one that got away. In the finals of the 1997 World Championships,
the Chinese star led 10-3 in the deciding set against Denmark's
Peter Rasmussen. Suddenly, his legs cramped, the apparent result
of a long, gruelling semifinal the previous day against Denmark's
Paul-Erik Hoyer. Rasmussen scored the last 12 points to escape 16-17,
18-13, 15-10, and Sun crumpled to the floor. That is the last time
Sun has stayed down. In 1998, he won the All-England Open and the
World Grand Prix title. In one fortnight in 1999, he carried his
team to the Sudirman Cup title, then collected the World Championships
crown like an IOU, 15-6, 15-13 over Indonesia's Fung Permadi. Sun,
who reached the No. 1 ranking early last year, wound up 1999 ranked
second behind yet another Dane, Peter Gade Christensen. However,
he owned a 5-3 record against Christensen, raising high hopes for
the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, assuming he qualifies.
|