Zhou Mi (badminton)

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.^[2][3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.

Positive clenbuterol test and two years ban

The BWF announced on 4 September 2010 that a BWF Doping Hearing conducted in Copenhagen on Monday 23 August has banned Zhou Mi for 2 years from participation in badminton, following an Adverse Analytical Finding. A sample taken from her in late June as part of the BWF's 'out-of-competition' testing programme. Zhou tested positive to clenbuterol, a Class 1 Anabolic Agent on the WADA Prohibited List of substances.^[6]

On 27 October 2011, more than one year after she was handed a two-year ban for testing positive for clenbuterol, former badminton world No. 1 Zhou Mi reiterated her innocence. "At the time of the test, I was not competing or preparing to compete. There was not even the slightest reason or incentive for me to take any performance-enhancing substance," said Zhou. Regardless of the incident, Zhou, now 32, added it was time for her to retire from the sport. Clenbuterol can be consumed from eating contaminated food.^[7]

Olympic Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2004	Goudi Olympic Hall, Athens, Greece	Gong Ruina	11–2, 8–11, 11–6	Bronze

World Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2003	National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England	Gong Ruina	2–11, 4–11	Bronze
2001	Palacio de Deportes de San Pablo, Seville, Spain	Gong Ruina	9–11, 4–11	Silver

Asian Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2002	Gangseo Gymnasium, Busan, South Korea	Gong Ruina	11–1, 11–1	Gold

Asian Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Siri Fort Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, India	Liu Xin	15–21, 18–21	Bronze
2002	Bangkok, Thailand	Zhang Ning	6–11, 11–3, 11–8	Gold

East Asian Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2009	Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Hong Kong	Yip Pui Yin	21–15, 13–21, 10–17 Retired	Silver

World Junior Championships

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	Silkeborg Hallerne, Silkeborg, Denmark	Zhu Feng	Cheng Rui Gao Ling	8–15, 14–17	Bronze

Asian Junior Championships

Girls' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1997	Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Manila, Philippines	Gong Ruina		Silver

Girls' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1997	Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Manila, Philippines	Yu Hua	Chor Hooi Yee Lim Pek Siah	10–15, 6–15	Bronze

BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,^[8] is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). A season of Superseries features twelve tournaments around the world, including five elevated as Premier Series, which introduced since 2011,^[9] with successful players invited to the Superseries Finals held at the year end.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2009	Singapore Open	Xie Xingfang	21–19, 18–21, 21–10	Winner
2009	Malaysia Open	Tine Rasmussen	17–21, 21–15, 16–21	Runner-up
2008	Superseries Masters Finals	Wang Chen	21–14, 21–18	Winner
2008	Denmark Open	Wang Lin	18–21, 10–21	Runner-up
2008	China Masters	Wang Lin	21–19, 19–21, 21–16	Winner
2008	Japan Open	Wang Yihan	19–21, 21–17, 15–21	Runner-up
2008	Singapore Open	Tine Rasmussen	19–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2008	Korea Open	Lu Lan	21–18, 15–21, 21–15	Winner

     BWF Superseries Finals tournament

     BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix has two levels: Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) since 1983.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Malaysia Open	Yip Pui Yin	16–21, 21–14, 19–21	Runner-up
2009	Philippines Open	Wang Xin	10–21, 21–12, 21–23	Runner-up
2008	New Zealand Open	Rachel Hindley	21–10, 21–15	Winner
2008	Macau Open	Julia Wong Pei Xian	21–13, 21–19	Winner
2008	India Open	Lu Lan	21–14, 21–14	Winner
2007	Philippines Open	Zhu Jingjing	21–18, 21–12	Winner
2007	Thailand Open	Zhu Lin	22–20, 5–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2007	New Zealand Open	Chie Umezu	21–13, 21–10	Winner
2005	China Masters	Zhang Ning	3–11, 11–5, 3–11	Runner-up
2005	Singapore Open	Zhang Ning	5–11, 7–11	Runner-up
2004	Singapore Open	Zhang Ning	8–11, 1–11	Runner-up
2004	Malaysia Open	Zhang Ning	11–9, 7–11, 8–11	Runner-up
2004	All England Open	Gong Ruina	7–11, 7–11	Runner-up
2003	China Open	Gong Ruina	13–10, 11–1	Winner
2003	Denmark Open	Gong Ruina	11–4, 10–13, 3–11	Runner-up
2003	Malaysia Open	Camilla Martin	11–1, 7–11, 11–5	Winner
2003	Singapore Open	Zhang Ning	0–11, 8–11	Runner-up
2003	All England Open	Xie Xingfang	11–6, 11–5	Winner
2002	Singapore Open	Zhang Ning	11–6, 11–3	Winner
2002	Japan Open	Dai Yun	7–1, 7–0, 7–1	Winner
2001	China Open	Gong Ruina	7–2, 7–0, 7–4	Winner
2001	Malaysia Open	Gong Ruina	3–7, 2–7, 4–7	Runner-up
2001	Japan Open	Gong Ruina	11–8, 11–0	Winner
2001	All England Open	Gong Zhichao	7–11, 3–11	Runner-up
2000	World Grand Prix Finals	Gong Zhichao	7–5, 5–7, 7–1, 7–0	Winner
2000	Denmark Open	Camilla Martin	1–11, 11–6, 11–7	Winner
2000	Dutch Open	Gong Ruina	11–7, 9–11, 11–8	Winner
2000	Thailand Open	Ye Zhaoying	5–11, 0–11	Runner-up
1999	China Open	Gong Ruina	11–6, 11–5	Winner
1999	Denmark Open	Camilla Martin	11–8, 3–11, 1–11	Runner-up
1999	Chinese Taipei Open	Dai Yun	5–11, 8–11	Runner-up
1999	Korea Open	Gong Ruina	11–6, 13–12	Winner
1998	Dutch Open	Yao Jie	10–13, 13–11, 11–4	Winner
1998	Brunei Open	Gong Ruina	7–11, 4–11	Runner-up

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1999	Dutch Open	Tang Chunyu	Chen Lin Jiang Xuelian	9–15, 4–15	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	Brunei Open	Yang Ming	Sandiarto Vera Octavia	13–18, 12–15	Runner-up

     BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

     BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2007	Miami Pan Am International	Lucía Tavera	21–7, 21–6	Winner
1999	French International	Aparna Popat	11–0, 11–2	Winner

     BWF International Challenge tournament

     BWF International Series tournament

     BWF Future Series tournament