Dong Jiong
| Dong Jiong | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Country |
 China |
| Born | August 20, 1973 |
| Handedness | right |
| Men's singles | |
| Highest ranking | 1 |
Dong Jiong (Chinese: 董炯; born August 20, 1973) is a Chinese badminton player who ranked among the world's men's singles elite in the mid and late 1990s.
Career
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Badminton | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 1996 Atlanta | Singles |
In a relatively short career at the top level, Dong won some of badminton's biggest events, including the prestigious All-England and Denmark Open titles in 1997. He was a silver medalist at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, losing the final in two close games to Denmark's Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen. Among Dong's badminton achievements were victories at the Thailand Open (1995, 1996), China Open (1995, 1997, 1999), Swiss Open (1997), Badminton World Cup (1996), and quadrennial Asian Games (1998). The successes of Dong and his contemporary and rival Sun Jun marked the start of a revival in men's badminton fortunes for China, which, after dominating in the 1980s, had lost the initiative to Indonesia.
Dong retired in 2001 without any job offer or pension from his employer, the Beijing municipal sports bureau. Rekindling his passion for cultivating the badmintonsport, Dong built up a franchise that includes five amateur badminton clubs, and was hired as the head coach of China's Paralympic badminton team. Dong felt lucky he could carry his own legacy in the amateur sport arena. He picked up new knowledge and confidence outside the topsport environment.
Coaching players with disabilities since 2009, Dong has focused his efforts on them at his clubs. He's spent money each year on improving the facilities while applying for an entry to the 2016 Paralympic Games.[1]