Zhang Ning

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.
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 4[1] (September 25, 2008)
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 female 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 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 have 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 was 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 reason 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.[2][3] 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.[2] 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 2008 BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES 2008 Winner
2007 6 May 2007 AVIVA OPEN SINGAPORE 2007 Winner
2006
22 Oct 2006 CHINA OPEN Winner
15 Oct 2006 YONEX JAPAN OPENWinner
24 Sep 2006 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Runner-Up
02 Sep 2006 YONEX SUNRISE HONG KONG Runner-Up
23 Jul 2006 Macau Open Championship Quarter-Finalist
25 Jun 2006 CHINESE TAIPEI OPENWinner
18 Jun 2006 PROTON MALAYSIA OPENWinner
6 May 2006 UBER CUP Winner
12 Mar 2006 CHINA MASTERS 2006 Quarter-Finalist
22 Jan 2006 YONEX ALL ENGLAND OPEN 2006 Runner-Up
15 Jan 2006 YONEX GERMAN OPEN 2006 Winner
2005
13 Nov 2005 PICC CHINA OPEN 2005 Winner
06 Nov 2005 Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Badminon Championship 2005 Winner
04 Sep 2005 CHINA MASTERS 2005 Winner
21 Aug 2005 XIV WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2005 Finalist
10 Jul 2005 PROTON MALAYSIA OPEN 2005 Winner
03 Jul 2005 SINGAPORE OPEN 2005 Winner
15 May 2005 SUDIRMAN CUP FINAL 2005 Team Event
10 Apr 2005 YONEX OPEN JAPAN 2005 Winner
13 Mar 2005 YONEX ALL ENGLAND OPEN 2005 Runner-Up
05 Mar 2005 YONEX GERMAN OPEN 2005 Runner-Up
2004
21 Nov 2004 AVIVA OPEN SINGAPORE 2004 Winner
14 Nov 2004 CHINA OPEN 2004 1/4
21 Aug 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES 2004 Winner
04 Jul 2004 Proton-Eon MALAYSIA OPEN 2004 Winner
16 May 2004 UBER CUP FINALS 2004 Team Event
11 Apr 2004 YONEX OPEN JAPAN 2004 Semi-Finalist
04 Apr 2004 NOONNOPPI KOREA OPEN 2004 Winner
14 Mar 2004 YONEX ALL ENGLAND OPEN 2004 Semi-Finalist
07 Mar 2004 SWISS OPEN 2004 Semi-Finalist
2003
16 Nov 2003 CHINA OPEN 2003 1/4
02 Nov 2003 HONG KONG OPEN 2003 Winner
05 Oct 2003 YONEX GERMAN OPEN 2003 Winner
28 Sep 2003 DENMARK OPEN 2003 Semi-Finalist
07 Sep 2003 PROTON EON MALAYSIA OPEN 2003 1/4
31 Aug 2003 SANYO INDONESIA OPEN 2003 1/4
24 Aug 2003 YONEX-SUNRISE SINGAPORE OPEN 2003 Winner
03 Aug 2003 World Championships 2003 Winner
06 Apr 2003 Yonex Open Japan 2003 1/4
23 Mar 2003 Sudirman Cup 2003 Team Event
23 Feb 2003 Swiss Open 2003 Winner
16 Feb 2003 Yonex All England Open 2003 Semi-Finalist
2002
22 Dec 2002 China Open 2002 Runner-Up
17 Nov 2002 JVC Asian Champs 2002 Runner-Up
01 Sep 2002 Sanyo Indonesia Open 2002 Runner-Up
25 Aug 2002 Yonex-Sunrise Singapore Open 2002 Runner-Up
19 May 2002 Uber Cup Finals (CHN) 2002 TF Team Event

References

  1. BWF World Ranking - WOMENS SINGLES Archived August 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine., Badminton World Federation
  2. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.