I have written a few articles about Bao Chunlai. To the fans’ doubt about him, he clearly indicated that he was confident to scoop the title of 2008 Olympic Badminton Games and did not have any fear of finals.
I am not fearful of finals
In the recent international badminton tournaments, Bao has entered the finals for more than 10 times. But he was changed to another person once competing in the finals especially in the battle against his compatriot Lin Dan. He had so many lose to the latter. What’s the reason?
In Bao’s opinion, the root cause of his failures was his formulary of thought formed in years of matches.
“I was given the mission to keep foreigner badminton players out of finals to insure the title belonged to China before. In general, the missions were accomplished with my great effort. With the time going by, formulary was formed in my mind that a spot of final was my success. So I could not find myself in the competition for champions.
The coaches in Chinese badminton team including head coach Li Yonbo had the opinion that Bao did not have any problem in terms of badminton techniques. He was skilled enough to beat any other one in the world. Lin Dan and he were called binary star of Chinese team.
The performance stability was Bao’s advantage and disadvantage as well. It meant less error on the court and less threat on the other side. It was not fair that some people owed his down to the lack of experience and frailty. As long as he has more confidence and more power to win the key points, Bao will have more titles.
The insider of badminton has even said as follows.
“If Bao had did 75 percent work as in the semi-fianl in final, the title would have been his.”
I have a strong desire for Olympic title.
Bao is one of the players who have the power to be champion in OG, but not the favorite. To reply to the discussion of media and fans, Bao said that the key factor for his breakthrough lies in himself.
“I lost many games, but I do not lose my heart. I will be back to square one. And I hope to prove me with outstanding behavior in Beijing Olympic Games.”
Not a long time ago, Bao said to his coach Li Yongbo that he was confident to compete with other top players for the Olympic champion.
“The more confident you are, the more confidence the people around you have in you. So long as I do good job on the court, who can tell me that I have no chance to win?”
His compatriot Lin Dan has been edging him for a long time. But Bao does not consider him inferior to the world champion.
“Lin Dan is my close friend. I was beaten by him again and again. But it did not mean that he was more excellent than me. I have more potential. I have the full confidence to let the title come to China together with Lin Dan in Beijing.”
In Frecnch Open, Bao ended the miserable cycle of failing facing Lin Dan by beating the latter in 3 games. Bao thought he should make progress in both speed and strength.
“I am taller than other opponents that I control more place on the court easily. But my explosive power is not enough. I failed to win the key points due to stamina, which made an impression to badminton fans that I did not have iron willpower in the clash. In fact, there are little advantage to each other between Lin Dan and me. The winner is the one who persist to the last second.”
Olympic torch bearer is my dream.
On Nov 15th, Li Yongbo, Cai Yun, Fu Haifeng, Zhang Ning, Xie Xingfang, Gao Ling and he were nominated to be the torch bearer. It brought Bao great honor to be the flagman of Chinese delegation in Asian Games.
“I am eager to be the Olympic torch bearer. What a wonderful thing for me!”
Bao believed that it did not influence his preparation for Olympic Games to apply for the torch bearer.
“I am good at running, so I am quite qualified for it.”
But each torch bearer only needs to run a few hundred meters. Someone intends to run very slowly to prolong the memorable time.
Knowing this, Bao made fun to us: “I would run at the opposite direction that I never reach the destination.”
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Bao Chunlai: I Want Beijing Olympic Gold Medal of Badminton
Monday, November 19, 2007
Taufik Quit China Badminton Open
The organizing committee of China Badminton Open declared to the public that Taufik quit the tournament.
The Indonesian badminton team arrived in Guangzhou last night without the most famous player Taufik. News came from Indonesia that Taufik claimed not to go to China before getting into a plane. After knowing that, many reporters asked the vice chief referee Lei Mingji to prove it.
“He informed us with an email. He told us he would not attend Guangzhou tournament without his cause.” Lei Mingji said to the reporters. Taufik will be fined 250 US$ for his quit.
It is the second time that Taufik did this. Early in 2005, the hottest battle between Lin Dan and him did not show up due to his absence. Also, the quit this time affected the box ticket. According to the draw, the opponent of Taufik in the first round will be Bao Chunlai. The badminton fans were eager to watch it, but they failed.
Bao told the media it was a pity for that all his recent training was aimed to beat the Indonesian. To the question whether his power scared Taufik, Bao replied as follows.
“I do not have such power to scare him to quit China Badminton Open. It is another case if he admits it himself. But I am working hard to prepare the clash. It is a great pity that I do not have the chance to beat him in China.”
Bao’s opponent was changed to an unknown Thailand one.
Let’s think about why Taufik quit.
Injury is sure to be an excuse. He has just beat Sony to get the title of national championship. It showed that he was in good shape. He was satisfied with his form that he would take part in Hong Kong Open.
In fact, Taufik’s quit related the following 2 points.
1. Indonesian revenge on China
As we all knew, Lin Dan quit Indonesia Open in May this year. He did it on the day before the opening of the match that the committee had no time to redraw. Indonesians were dissatisfied with it. Christian Hadinata, the head coach of Indonesian badminton team gave his opinion as the following.
“There is a tradition of equality in badminton matches. Since China did not send the most outstanding player to attend Indonesia Super Series, it is not necessary for us to let our excellent player to compete in the tournament held in China. Although we need more credits for Olympic qualification by Super Series, we make our choice with the consideration of all factors besides it.”
Observer considered his remarks a sign that Taufik would quit China Master in Chendu.
But it did no happen. It became a reality in the Guangzhou event.
2. According to the draws, Taufik had much difficulty to get a spot in final.
There are three top Chinese shuttlers Bao Chunlai, Chun Yu and Lin Dan waiting for him. One of the three has the strength to edge Taufik. Maybe it is wise for him to give up. Thus he will have more time to prepare for Hong Kong Open.
But I have to say Taufik will encounter Chinese badminton players sooner or later. In the first round of HongKong Open he will take on Chen Hong, a hard opponent to conquer.
In fact, Taufik is surrounded by Chinese group no matter what kind of tournament he attends.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Taufik and Lin Dan: Respect Each Other, Lack Communication Due to Different Languages
The first fight between Lin Dan and Taufik was in 2001 Asian Championship with the former win. From then on, they had a lot of battles with victories and failures. The competition between them was the focus of attention for the badminton fans and media.
There were 2 idols for Lin Dan when he began his badminton career. One was Sun Jun for Sun was the No.1 MS player in national badminton team at that time. The other was Peter Gade for the Danish was outstanding in terms of badminton techniques.
But Lin also respected Taufik for the latter had almost scooped the titles of all kinds of tournaments including Olympic Games, World Championship, and Asian Games.
"My scores are not as good as Taufik. I am still on the way to my dream." Lin Dan said.
Taufik has a great many fans all over the world. I can prove it. Many Chinese badminton fans love Taufik much more than Lin Dan. Chinese little flower Wang Lin, the champion of Ladies Single in 2006 China Master, hoped to do well enough to let Taufik know her. Lin Dan believed that Taufik was the typical player of Indonesian with wonderful skills, enjoyable to watch.
As for the battle between him and Taufik, Lin Dan said that the character played an important role in it.
"Every player has its own character, its own way to live his life and its own way to fight on the court. There is no need to change it. Or he would lose his own feature. If Taufik turned to be modest and cautious for some people considered him arrogant, I think it’s no good for him. It’s not Taufik any more without his own style." Lin Dan thought.
Being an excellent shuttler, Lin Dan felt that the happiest was not the title, but a competitive opponent behind it.
"If I came to the top place without difficulty, I could not feel a great sense of achievement. Nowadays there are many top players fighting in the badminton tournament, so the champion weighs a lot. I benefited a lot from my opponents for their progress drove me forward. The uncertainty of win made the player maximize his potential."
Lin Dan in Taufik’s eyes
At the age of 8, Taufik was font of football. But his father wanted him to play badminton for Indonesia was a “kingdom of badminton”. To be a world-class badminton player was a dream for most teenagers of Indonesian.
Once he took part in this kind of sports, he loved it.
In Sydney Olympic Games, the world No.1 lost his game to Ji Xinpeng in the quarter-finals.
"I can not believe my failure. I have to wait for the next one. I am the No.1. Why and how can a new Chinese beat me?" Taufik could not accept it. But he began to know lose was a natural thing to a player.
"It’s just a game. Anyone could lose it. I have to relax. So I go to have a party, listen to the music and try to forget the game. But I do not mean to give up for Olympic title is my ultimate goal."
In Athens Olympic Games, Taufik cried again. But this time the tears were for excitement. "I must thank God!" Taufik said after getting the Olympic gold medal.
As for the topic of Lin Dan and him, Taufik said that he had never talked to the former due to different languages.
"There is no problem between us. He is the most outstanding player in the world. But languages are the obstacle of communication for us. I would like to be friendly to any other player in the world including those from Indonesia, China and Denmark. I could make friends with Lee Chong Wei and Peter Gade for we talked to each other in English. I was also eager to make friends with Chinese shuttlers, but we could not communicate. Why aren’t you able to speak English? If you can, we can do something together beyond the court."
Regarding the media’s discussion about them, Taufik was bored about the comparison of them.
"Everyone was asking me about Lin Dan. But Lin Dan is Lin Dan and Taufik is Taufik. I hated some newspaper reported something unreal. They always wrote that Taufik disliked Lin Dan and Lin Dan disliked Taufik. They brought much trouble to us. I don’t want to have any problem with Lin Dan. I hope Chinese media don’t give false report. And I wish Chinese badminton fans give a warm welcome to me."
To the question who was the hardest opponent to him, Taufik gave his answer----Bao Chunlai. In his opinion, Bao Chunlai is the same type as Indonesian player with great techniques and Lin Dan has more strength.
"Bao Chunlai is a very excellent player, but he did not perform steady while Lin Dan did well in this point."
Taufik has a full expectation for Beijing Olympic Games.
"I have been in China for many times. I think Chinese badminton is the world No.1. China is a very large country with a lot of people. They all work hard and I love them. There are so many world No.1 in China. I know US is the top one leading the world. Maybe the next one is China."
Lin Dan and Taufik in Bao Chunlai’s eyes
Lin Dan and Taufik have different types on the court. The media has no need to sensationalize the battle between them.
"We seldom have a talk with Taufik due to different languages. He is very clam, serous and devoted competing with others. And it’s a great pleasure to watch his games. Lin Dan is an aggressive badminton player with his own character. He often makes a standard solute to the audience after victory and shows strong desire for it." Bao Chunlai said.
Bao talked about other opponents as well.
As for Lee Chong Wei, Bao regarded him a good friend worth trusting.
"He is very smart and keeps his word to friends. I asked him to bring me something and he always did it. This kind of little thing showed that he was a nice guy."
As for Peter Gade, Bao Chunlai loved his types of playing badminton very much.
"Peter Gade is from the generation ahead me. I loved to watch his games before I entered national badminton team. Though his ability was not as good as in his top shape, his quick mind with sharp attack impressed me deeply."
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Lin Dan: I Will Play Badminton till 2012
Being the top one badminton player, Lin Dan made a birthday vow to god that he would scoop the Olympic title.
“Of course I hope that I could get the gold medal in Beijing Olympic Games for it’s a hometown event. But it’s a very difficult job for there are many competitive players including Taufik, Lee Chong Wei. If I failed to make it next year, I would try once more in 2012 Olympic Games. I will not be very old with 29 years old in 2012”, said Lin Dan.
As we all knew, Lin Dan is a fashionable person and shopping is one of his favorite hobbies. To entertain his fans, he wore a silver fur coat with sports shoes in the same color, which made him look like a model for the latest fashion in clothes. Being the hostess of the party, Xie Xingfang did not seek the limelight for her boyfriend was the center on this occasion. She had the same brand clothes as Lin Dan.
To thank his fans, Lin Dan rewarded each of his fans a special gift, a T-shirt designed by Lin Dan himself. The front of it showed a cartoon of Lin Dan with badminton racket, the back with 2 letters LD which stood for Lin Dan. For his works, Lin Dan spent a lot of time and energy on it. He disclosed to his fans that Xie Xingfang would show up in his 2nd works in 2008, which made us all eager to see it.
How did Lin Dan come to the badminton road?
When Lin Dan was 5 years old, his mother brought him an electronic organ. But Lin Dan hated it. The young Lin Dan liked to play with his boy friends especially acting as a policeman. To cast off the boring training of electronic organ, Lin Dan gave his mother an excuse of showing around the stadium nearby. By chance he met his favorite of his life----badminton. From then on he began his badminton road to success.
At the age of 12, Lin Dan became a professional badminton player of Ba Yi team. Everyone has his memorable first love. To the question when Lin Dan began to take notice of female, his face turned red. His girlfriend was also curious to know that. Someone shouted in the crowd: it’s in his 15 years old. But it was denied by Lin Dan. He was so smart that he said his parents and Xie Xingfang were the most important in his heart instead of giving the direct answer.
Olympic Games superior to marriage
Although being the top one, Lin Dan knew that the chance of Olympic title was equal to every competitor. Both Lin Dan and Xie Xingfang were under the great pressure of gold medals from the expectation of Chinese people.
“The biggest is from journalists.” Lin Dan told that the media gave him power and pressure especially when he did not perform well.
Lin Dan has done a good job this year. Besides the title of World Championship, he won a few champions of the Super Series tournaments. Next week China Open will be held in Guangzhou. It is a very good opportunity to get more credits for Olympic qualification. Lin Dan regarded it as Olympic matches to adjust himself to the situation of home field.
“Many people think Taufik is the hardest opponent to me. In fact, all the powerful badminton MS players are my opponents. But the most difficult one to conquer is not from others, it’s me. I believe that the only way to success is to win myself.”
In last China Open, Lin Dan was beat by his compatriot Bao Chunlai. He expected outstanding performance in the tournament this year for he was named “son-in-law of Guangzhou” with Xie Xingfang boring there.
There have been a few years since they fell in love and Lin Dan’s mother was very happy with Xie Xingfang. But they are not going to marry in the near future. The most important task for them is to prepare for Beijing Olympic Games. They gave great comfort to each other when either was in bad shape.
As for the title of Beijing Olympic Games, Xie Xingfang was more confident to get it. But she mentioned that she would retire after the great event due to injury and age. Lin Dan wass cautious of Olympic gold medal, but more dedicated to it.
“I hope to be the No.1 of 2008 Olympic Games, but the mission is a little bit hard to accomplish. If I failed in 2008, I would try once more in 2012 Olympic Games. I am still young then.” Lin Dan regards Olympic gold medal as his biggest goal.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Badminton Law: Bao Chunlai----Always No.2
The fans of Bao are all disappointed and doubted why. In China, there are more badminton fans of Bao than Lin Dan for the former is more attractive. But it doesn’t help Bao with a gold medal.
In Denmark Open Bao did so good job that he beat Taufik, Lee Chong Wei and Chen Jin and entered the finals. Facing compatriot Lin Dan, Bao did not perform well any more and lost the game in a very short time.
It was just a copy in the French Open MS final. After outplaying Lin Dan with great effort, Bao was edged by Lee Chong Wei. To conclude, the champion always slipped away from Bao.
In my opinion, Bao has the power to kick off any other top badminton player in the world. But the trrth is, Bao seldom got a gold medal. Why?
Maybe tiredness was the reason. In Denmark Open, Bao had a few hard battles before the finals. It was the same as in French Open. Bao finally defeated Lin Dan in semi-final, which made him tried both in physiology and psychology.
In fact, the main cause is Bao’s weak psychology.
Problem1: the shadow of Lin Dan
Bao is one of the most outstanding players in the world with strength and rich experience.But there is one badminton player that he could not conquer no matter how skilled he is. It is Lin Dan. In almost every tournament Lin was superior to Bao. Bao could have excellent behavior except facing Lin Dan. They have fought for 20 times with 14 victories for Lin Dan.
So Bao seemed to play badminton under the shadow of Lin Dan, which made him lack of confidence encountering Lin Dan. After so many failures, Bao intended to accept that it was nearly impossible for him to outplay Lin Dan.
Problem 2: the fear of finals
Always being No.2 made Bao fear of finals. A too strong desire to the title made badminton player impatient on the court. Bao is the case. Bao is very much eager to prove to the world that he could be the No.1. This deeply influenced his performance and made him not focus himself on the match. French Open is an example.
From his career honors below we could see this: so many runner-ups, few champions.
Bao’s career:
2002 All England Open, Indonesia Open last4; Japan Open, Singapore Open last 8
2003 German Open, Hong Kong Open last4; Singapore Open, Malaysia Open, China Open last 8; World Championship MS last 4
2004 Thomas Cup Champion(team); Swiss Open, Japan Open, China Open runner-up; Indonesia Open, Singapore Open last 4; Malaysia Open last 8; Olympic Games badminton MS last 16
2005 Sudirman Cup Champion(team); China Open, Hong Kong Open, China Master Open runner-up; German Open, Malaysia Open last4; Singapore Open, Japan Open, All England Open last 8; World Championship last 8
2006 Thomas Cup Champion(team); World Championship runner-up; Asian Games champion(team); Korea Open title; China Open, Indonesia Open runner-up; Singapore Open last 4; Thailand Open, Macau Open last 8
2007 Malaysia Open, Indonesia Open, Denmark Open, French Open runner-up; All England Open, Korea Open last 4; China Master last 8; World Championship last 4
Friday, October 26, 2007
Badminton Match: Zhang Ling VS Zhou Mi
So I suppose that Zhang would lose the game. After the publication of the latest world rank, Zhou Mi is in the No.17. She is eager to get a win over Zhang to promote herself to a high position. Zhou has won 2004 Olympic bronze medal and she is aiming to enter 2008 Beijing OG. ##CONTINUE##She has enough power to kick off any other players in the badminton world including Zhang Ning.
Let’s talk more about Zhou Mi(photo).
After retiring from Chinese national badminton team, Zhou Mi chose Hong Kong as her second hometown to go on her badminton career. She benefited from the proposal called “Quality Migrant Admission Scheme” by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. She was accepted for having brilliant scores including former Asian Games champion and former world No.1, following Wang Chen to represent Hong Kong badminton team. Thus Hong Kong has more power to challenge Chinese national team, which Li Yongbo does not expect to face.
In the former national player Gong Ruina’s eyes, it is also good to China that more powerful opponents result in higher level in badminton techniques.
In China, a national player’s transforming to other places always related the topic called patriotism. To avoid this, Hong Kong is the best choice for Zhou Mi for HK belongs to China.
Hong Kong is a better place for Zhou Mi to play badminton
As we all knew, there are so many excellent badminton players in Chinese national team that any of them could be the world champion. The competition is so hard that a few of them fail to represent China in the world badminton court. But Hong Kong is not the case. No one could threaten her center position.
A loose environment could help her make better achievements. Wang Chen is an example. I have to say that Wang was not the first-class player in national badminton team. After going to Hong Kong, Wang Chen beat the top player such as Xie Xingfang, Zhang Ning many times and became one of the hardest opponents to Chinese team.
Zhou was very satisfied with the change. She could enjoy badminton most rather than playing for better scores before.
Another factor is that Zhou’s injuries could be cured in HK. She was forced to quit national team because of her injuries.
To the question whether she could enter Beijing OG, she said that the first step for her was to win enough credits to qualify for it.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Badminton Denmark Open: Zhang Yawen's Disappointment
As we all knew, Chinese ladies doubles pairs dominate the badminton world. Maybe it is a sign that other countries have the power to challenge Li Yongbo’s girls.
Some fans commented on the reason why they lost the game. Here are some opinions below. ##CONTINUE##
1. Gao Ling/Huang Sui perform more steadily than Zhang Yawen/Wei Yili against foreign opponents.
2. Due to their personalities, Zhang and Wei do less communication on the court without teamwork. But each of them has outstanding techniques. They need to adapt to each other to make 1+1>2.
As for me, the main cause is that Zhang is too tired. Zhang Yawen always plays mixed doubles and women doubles. She has just scored 2 titles in Macau Open and Good Luck Beijing badminton event, which made her exhausted.
Zhang and Wei did a good beginning in the upper part of first game. But the Malaysia pair did not give up and caught up with them to 20-20. And they continued to get 2 points more to win the first game. The Chinese pair defeated them in the second game. In the decider game, Wong/Chin played so well that they realized their dream of beating the world No.1.
In spite of Zhang/Wei’s being out, the remaining 2 pairs still have enough power to defend the championship for China. After all, China’s dominance in badminton is not easy to break through in a short time for other countries.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Chinese New Badminton Coach Series: Zhang Jun
Four former national badminton players became new coaches of China. Do you know who they are? I will give a complete introduction of them.
The first one is Zhang Jun, who has scoped two Olympic titles in badminton Mixed Doubles with his teammate Gao Ling.
To the question what the feeling was transforming a player into a coach, Zhang replied that it’s just another form for him to take part in OG 2008. Although he wanted to play in the home event himself, it’s also joyful to help younger players to win gold medals with his rich experience. ##CONTINUE##
“Attention, please. Before giving out training proposal today, I officially declare that Zhang Jun becomes the new coach of women doubles”, said Mr. Tian Bingyi, the head coach of women doubles.
“And I hope you all coordinate with him well. Ok, let’s applause for him”, Tian added.
“You should come here earlier.” His teammate Gao Ling gave him a welcome.
“Thank you all”, Zhang Jun replied. With this short word, Z hang began his coach career. It was August 27th, 2007.
How to call him is a problem to women singles players
They all felt happy with Zhang Jun being their new coach for they were familiar and got well along with him when Zhang was a player. Because of knowing well, they didn’t know how to call him when he became their coach. So they made fun of the new badminton coach.
“It is too formal to call you Director Zhang. How about Director Jun?” Zhang Yawen asked Zhang Jun.
But this was negated by Gao Ling at once.
“I would never call him Director. I just call him Fat”, said Gao.
“Is Director Fat ok?” someone suggested.
They burst into a spasm of laughter.
Zhang Jun came over and told them to do the preparation well without any words.
“He is something like a coach”, someone continued.
Nevertheless, it’s just a joke. They all respected the new badminton coach on the court.
Learn to analyze the video tape of techniques
Being a badminton coach, Zhang Jun had to analyze the video tape of techniques for players. The differences between player and coach were showing here. When he was a player, it’s ok to know the main idea of the techniques. But as a coach, it’s essential for him to know the details. He preferred watch the video for more times to find out the opponent’s custom behavior and shortcomings. Then he was more confident to give the guidance to players.
Supervise the players’ sleep from being supervised
In Chinese badminton team, it is the coach’s duty to make players sleep on time. At 10:00 on the night, Zhang had to inspect the players door to door. As being a player, he often continued to use his computer after coach left. But now in order not to forget inspection, he reminds himself with an alarm clock.
Different from the two older coaches Tian Bingyi and Bing Jiande, Zhang Jun always walked around while directing the players training. He said that he was a little bit tired after a class of training. It came mentally, not physically.
As for Zhang Jun, the badminton shuttlecock has been changed into a notebook full of training proposal.
“Although I have no opportunity to play on Olympic court any more, I will try my best to help my players to score titles in the home event. Their champion dream is the same as my dream.” The former Olympic badminton mixed double winner gave a brief conclusion.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Badminton Denmark Open: Zhang Ning and Xie Xingfang’s Different Emotions
Xie Xingfang is eager to go to Denmark and France. She wrote in her blog as follows.
We are set to fly to Denmark. I am fond of the place very much. But there have been a few years since I went there last time. Denmark Open is 5-star badminton event with high prize. The younger players are sent to the tournament in recent few years for most of the older players need to have a hard train in the meantime.
As for France, I went there when I was teenager. But I did not realize that Paris was a city of fashion, a city of romance and could not enjoy its scene being so young. This time I’d like to take the opportunity to have a good look at Paris and take some photos. ##CONTINUE##
Of course, the most important for me is to score the WS title.
Last Sunday I gave Lin Dan a travelling bag full of good wishes as a gift for his birthday. I hope that he can fill it with a lot of gold medals. Ha-ha.
But things are not going well with Zhang Ning. She has not 100 percent recovered with her injury in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament. Her feelings are listed below.
I take medicine and do physical treatment as doctor told. But the recovery needs time. Nevertheless, I have to play more matches for more credits even with some injuries. Denmark Open and France Open are the good opportunities that I can not lose.
Actually, I went on with slight training and could not get well quickly for my legs still worked.
I knew that many fans cared about my injury. And I will play my best to give audience wonderful games. Please cheer me on.
Facing Denmark Open, badminton WS No.1 and No.2 have such different emotions. I have to say competitive sports are just like this. You can call it cruel, but it is reality. Especially in China badminton team, there are numerous excellent players waiting to be selected to play as a Chinese representative. If an old player like Zhang Ning wants to rest for some time, a new one will come out taking place of her at once.
Hold on, hera! (Zhang Ning called herself hera.)
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Zhang Ning: Never Too Old to Play Badminton
The answers will be found in the Women’s Singles No.1 Zhang Ning’s blog. I’ll give them in the end of this article.
Let’s talk something about Zhang Ning. The exception of Olympic test event is Zhang’s injury. How will it affect the Champion’s training and her score in the coming tournament?
Zhang told us in her blog that she was feeling well under positive treatment with no hard training and would soon recover in the next few days. She will not miss the coming Dutch Open.
Additionally, she emphasized the importantance of psychological adjustment. She said as follows.
Whatever you do, positive attitude is the most important. Always be engaged yourself in the preparing, in the process. And never care too much about the results. If you do well enough in the process, the results come accordingly for you have ever worked hard on it. I often heard someone say that I am too old. Yes, I am 32 years old which normally is considered not suitable to play badminton anymore. But I am still young in terms of psychology. Always being most active is my choice toward any difficulty. Some fans asked me whether it was because of physical strength that I had not taken part in Macau Open. Here I’d like to reply that I will play my opponent to the bitter end no matter how old or tired I am in the badminton court. I am waiting for the next champion. Please support me forever!
To the topic about her injury in Good Luck Beijing event, Zhang added that she would have continued to beat any opponent if the kind of injury had occurred in the real Olympic court. She will give her best performance and wonderful match to the audience in the Olympics Games.
What an awesome women player! In my opinion, it must never be too old for Zhang Ning to play badminton. Will she score the WS title in OG 2008? Let’s wait and see.
The upper photo is an automatic shuttlecock output machine which stands beside the umpire. When players want a new one, the umpire presses a button and a shuttlecock will be sent to players. The other one is a timer that benefits for spectators to know how much time left before the match begins and for players to know how much time they have a rest for.
It’s newly equipped in badminton stadium for OG 2008. Would you like to try? Just come to Beijing next summer!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Badminton Secrets: Li Yongbo's Hat
My readers, rush and timer, commented on Li Yongbo: Chinese Badminton Team Is Not a Dream Team and doubted about the hat Li always wore. What did he want to say to the world with his hat?
I checked some related interesting stories and his blog and gave some explanation below:
1. Most of Li’s fans are fond of the appearance with hat. It has been accepted as a characteristic of the famous coach.
2. Li had been proud of his curls. But it cost him some time to deal with it. Wearing hats is convenient for him with no worry about the hair.
3. He looks more energetic with hat. As Li has ever said, the head coach has to be gumptious at any time facing other coaches and players.
The above 3 are the main causes for Li’s hats. Nowadays a hat is considered an important decoration when Li is going to buy new clothes.
But Li’s attitude towards hat is flexible. He tells his fans that if they disliked the hat, he would give it up.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Badminton Men's Singles No.1: Lin Dan
Is Super Dan a tall man? 1.78 meters. That is 5 feet 10 inches, almost the same as Taufik. But he is much shorter than Bao Chunlai. But as a wise man said, badminton is nothing to do with being tall or short.
Weight: 72kg. Not strong enough? Remember, it’s all muscle, no fat!
How old is he? His birthday is on Oct 14, 1983. Oh, the day after tomorrow will be. I am 4 years old than him, but I have not got a single champion. What a big difference between Super and me! I am going to cry…
Do you know who Super’s girlfriend is? Just imagine.
Xie Xingfang is.
Continue imagining. If Super Dan and Xie’s child were to be trained to play badminton, could anyone else in the world have the power to stop him or her? Ha-ha.
How did Super Dan fall in love with Xie? It is a natural thing. You know, national players are trained in the same place. When Lin Dan first met Xie, he had chemistry on her at the first sight for Xie was something like an actress in a movie in Super Dan’s eyes. At that time Lin Dan was just 15 years old doing some assistant work to train women players whom Xie was among. But Xie was 17 and had her boyfriend already.
Soon Xie became Dan’s girlfriend. Lin Dan promised to do an outstanding performance and scores to protect her when he pulled Xie’s hands. You know why? There is a unwritten rule in the national badminton team that ordinary people can’t understand: Player is not allowed to make girlfriend or boyfriend without excellent score. So Dan’s achievements are partly from this.
When did he start playing badminton? 5 years old. What did you do when you were 5 years old? Most of us were playing for fun, doing nothing. But little Dan entered the Sports School. How boring and tiring for a 5-year-old boy to train day by day! His coach told that he always cried in the quilts at night.
But the hardest training laid a solid foundation for Lin Dan to develop his badminton career.
The left-hander was enlisted by the Army Club (called 8.1) at 12, and then picked as a member of the national team at 18. Relying on his extraordinary footwork and quick mind, he mainly plays defense on the court, punctuated with sharp sudden strikes. His crush was deadly to his competitors.
Li Yongbo, head coach of the Chinese national team, praised the two unique abilities Lin Dan boasts, one is his extraordinary understanding and use of tactics on the court, the other is his quick-start ability, which could find no match in his contemporaries.
In contrast to his predecessors, Lin Dan likes to show off on the court. He is regarded as a cool person with his standing hair and rectangled collar.
You could see Lin Dan’s standard salutation after his victory (see photo)
As we all knew, Lin Dan won a lot of badminton tournaments titles including 2006 and 2007 world badminton championship, only lack of an Olympic Gold.
God bless him!
I Will Write More Articles about Badminton Player
Denmark Open is coming. Badminton fans are going to give their predictions. We all care who will scoop the titles with our expectations. BadZine.info analyzed the situation for Peter Gade in Gade to face Lin Dan in Quarters. The badminton blog gave its opinion by Badminton Predictions—Denmark Open.
It is no doubt that authors wrote their articles in a specific situation and with their own emotions. But it doesn’t matter. Suppose you are the author, the case is the same. It is not important whether you agree with them or not. Just regard them as references if you are interested in them.
We still have about 10 days for Denmark Open. I’d like to respond to my reader Tony who expressed his wish to know more about the badminton stars. Ok, here it comes. I will give the detail introduction of some famous badminton players worldwide.
Have any suggestion? Would you like to know your favorite badminton star? Just type them in “Say to Dr. Badminton” in the sidebar.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Chen Jin Won Badminton Men's Singles
In 2007 Macau Open, Chen Jin came from behind to snatch the title away from Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia 19-21, 21-17, 21-18.
“I prepared to play a hard battle against Taufik for he is one of the best players in the badminton world. I did not give up after the failure of the first game”, said the 21-year-old player after his win in the men’s single final.
It showed that Chen had the confidence to beat any other badminton competitors. He impressed me deeply for his excellent behavior in 2006 China Cheng Du Master. He was called “black horse” for he beat all of the hottest seeds in that tournament.
He keeps so calm even under high pressure that observers say what he did is beyond his age. I think he will be the most potential No.1 shuttler following Lin Dan. According to the world rank, Lindan and Bao Chunlai are certain to attend 2008 Olympics.
Chen Jin is expected to be the third . I hope so.
