Zhang Ning

Zhang Ning
Personal information
Birth name 张宁
Country  China
Born (1975-05-19) 19 May 1975
Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 64 kg (141 lb; 10.1 st)
Handedness Right
Women's singles
Highest ranking 1
Current ranking Retired
Medal record
Representing  China
Women's Badminton
Olympic Games
2004 Athens Women's Singles
2008 Beijing Women's Singles
World Championships
2003 BirminghamWomen's Singles
2005 AnaheimWomen's Singles
2006 MadridWomen's Singles
2001 SevilleWomen's Singles
2007 Kuala LumpurWomen's Singles
BWF profile

Zhang Ning (simplified Chinese: 张宁; traditional Chinese: 張寧; pinyin: Zhāng Níng; born 19 May 1975 in Jinzhou, Liaoning, China) is a badminton player from the People's Republic of China. She won the Olympic gold medal twice for women's singles in both 2004 and 2008. She has played badminton on the world scene since the mid-1990s and has been particularly successful since 2002 while in her late twenties and early thirties, relatively late for singles at the highest level, and especially for top players in the Chinese system who are developed very early. She is known for her consistency of shot, deception and constant pressure, dictating the pace of rallies and working her opponents in all four corners of the court. She is the only female player to win consecutive Olympic singles gold medals.

Zhang first represented China in the Uber Cup (women's world team championship) competition in 1994 and last represented it in 2006. Though she was not always chosen to play in each of the biennial editions of this tournament, the span of her Uber Cup service is the longest of any Chinese player.

Badminton 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 Netherlands'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 Championships 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 had met in an international tournament, with the head-to-head tied at 9-9.

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 by 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 reasons 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. 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.

Retirement

Having previously announced her plans to retire after the 2008 Olympic Games, a retirement ceremony for Zhang and other retiring members of the Chinese national team was held at the 2008 China Open Badminton Championships in Shanghai in November 2008.[1][2] After her retirement, Zhang Ning immediately began working with the Chinese national team in coaching and developing the up-and-coming women's singles players.

Achievements

Prior to the results listed in the performance chart below, Zhang had won the French (1994), Swedish (1996), Malaysia (1998), Singapore (2001), and Korea (2002) Opens; the 1998 World Badminton Grand Prix and Copenhagen Masters; and the 2001 Asian Championships.[1] She had also earned a bronze medal at the 2001 IBF World Championships and a second-place finish (to compatriot Ye Zhaoying) at the 1998 All-England Championships, the one major world title that she never captured.

Year Date Tournament Round
2008 16 August 2008BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES 2008Winner
2007 6 May 2007AVIVA OPEN SINGAPORE 2007Winner
2006
22 Oct 2006CHINA OPENWinner
15 Oct 2006YONEX JAPAN OPENWinner
24 Sep 2006WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPSRunner-Up
02 Sep 2006YONEX SUNRISE HONG KONGRunner-Up
23 Jul 2006Macau Open ChampionshipQuarter-Finalist
25 Jun 2006CHINESE TAIPEI OPENWinner
18 Jun 2006PROTON MALAYSIA OPENWinner
6 May 2006UBER CUPWinner
12 Mar 2006CHINA MASTERS 2006Quarter-Finalist
22 Jan 2006YONEX ALL ENGLAND OPEN 2006Runner-Up
15 Jan 2006YONEX GERMAN OPEN 2006Winner
2005
13 Nov 2005PICC CHINA OPEN 2005Winner
06 Nov 2005Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Badminon Championship 2005Winner
04 Sep 2005CHINA MASTERS 2005Winner
21 Aug 2005XIV WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2005Finalist
10 Jul 2005PROTON MALAYSIA OPEN 2005Winner
03 Jul 2005SINGAPORE OPEN 2005Winner
15 May 2005SUDIRMAN CUP FINAL 2005Team Event
10 Apr 2005YONEX OPEN JAPAN 2005Winner
13 Mar 2005YONEX ALL ENGLAND OPEN 2005Runner-Up
05 Mar 2005YONEX GERMAN OPEN 2005Runner-Up
2004
21 Nov 2004AVIVA OPEN SINGAPORE 2004Winner
14 Nov 2004CHINA OPEN 20041/4
21 Aug 2004OLYMPIC GAMES 2004Winner
04 Jul 2004Proton-Eon MALAYSIA OPEN 2004Winner
16 May 2004UBER CUP FINALS 2004Team Event
11 Apr 2004YONEX OPEN JAPAN 2004Semi-Finalist
04 Apr 2004NOONNOPPI KOREA OPEN 2004Winner
14 Mar 2004YONEX ALL ENGLAND OPEN 2004Semi-Finalist
07 Mar 2004SWISS OPEN 2004Semi-Finalist
2003
16 Nov 2003CHINA OPEN 20031/4
02 Nov 2003HONG KONG OPEN 2003Winner
05 Oct 2003YONEX GERMAN OPEN 2003Winner
28 Sep 2003DENMARK OPEN 2003Semi-Finalist
07 Sep 2003PROTON EON MALAYSIA OPEN 20031/4
31 Aug 2003SANYO INDONESIA OPEN 20031/4
24 Aug 2003YONEX-SUNRISE SINGAPORE OPEN 2003Winner
03 Aug 2003World Championships 2003Winner
06 Apr 2003Yonex Open Japan 20031/4
23 Mar 2003Sudirman Cup 2003Team Event
23 Feb 2003Swiss Open 2003Winner
16 Feb 2003Yonex All England Open 2003Semi-Finalist
2002
22 Dec 2002China Open 2002Runner-Up
17 Nov 2002JVC Asian Champs 2002Runner-Up
01 Sep 2002Sanyo Indonesia Open 2002Runner-Up
25 Aug 2002Yonex-Sunrise Singapore Open 2002Runner-Up
19 May 2002Uber Cup Finals (CHN) 2002 TFTeam Event

References

  1. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
  2. ↑
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.