Chen Long (; ; born 18 January 1989), is a Chinese former professional

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player. He is the 2016

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Winter Olympic sports A. Including military patrol e ...

, two-time

World champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, and an Asian champion. Chen was a former World number 1, occupying the top men's singles ranking for 76 consecutive weeks from December 2014 to June 2016. He started his achievements in the international stage by winning the boys' singles title in the

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

and World Junior Championships in 2007, and then won his first professional tournament in the Philippines Open in 2009.

Early life

Born in

Shashi District :''See Shashi for namesakes'' Shashi () is a district within the main urban area of Jingzhou, Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is located on the left (northern) bank of the Yangtze River, between Yichang and Wuhan. History * Shash ...

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Province, Chen had shown his talent as a badminton player when he was young, and entered the Sports School in Jingzhou at the age of seven in 1996. In 2000, he joined the Xiamen team, and was selected to join the national youth team in 2005. In 2006, Chen entered the national second team.

Career

2007–2008: Asian and World Junior Champions

Chen emerged as an Asian Junior Champion in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, and at the same year, he won the World Junior Championships. He also helped the Chinese team won the 2007 Suhandinata Cup. In 2008, Chen was selected to join the national first team.

2009–2010: Three tour titles, Thomas Cup and Asian Games Team Champions, World #4

Chen won his first professional title at the Grand Prix Gold event in the 2009 Philippines Open, beating

Hu Yun Hu Yun (; born 31 August 1981) is a retired badminton player representing Hong Kong since 2006. He competed at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games, and also 2016 Rio Olympics. Born in Wuhan, Hubei, China, Hu started playing badminton in 1988, and part ...

of Hong Kong in the final. Chen participated in the Korea Open Super Series in January. He made it through to the semi-finals before losing to Danish player

Peter Gade } Peter Høeg Gade (born 14 December 1976 in Aalborg, Denmark)BWF World Ranking
Bwfbadmint ...

in three games, 13–21, 21–10, 17–21. A week later, in the Malaysia Open, he lost in the opening round to

Boonsak Ponsana Boonsak Ponsana ( th, บุญศักดิ์ พลสนะ; ; born 22 February 1982) is a Thai badminton player. His younger sister Salakjit Ponsana is also part of the Thailand badminton team. He got a Bachelor of Laws from Sri Patum. C ...

of Thailand. In March, at the German Open, Chen lost in the final to his teammate,

Bao Chunlai Baozi (), Pao-tsih or bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings ( meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed. They are a variation of ''mant ...

in two straight games. At the All England Open, he registered an impressive victory over 8th seed Jan Ø. Jørgensen in the first round but fell to Korea's

Son Wan-ho Son Wan-ho (Hangul: 손완호; or ; born 17 May 1988) is a South Korean badminton player. He reached a career high as world number 1 in the men's singles in May 2017. He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. He plays primarily defensive ...

18–21, 21–18, 19–21 in the second round. He followed up this disappointment with his best-ever performance in a Super Series event by making it through to the final of the

Swiss Open The Omega European Masters is the Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was prefixed with Eu ...

, where he finished runner-up to compatriot Chen Jin. Chen was part of the Chinese team that won gold at the 2010 Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He only featured in their opening match against Peru, taking just 31 minutes to beat his opponent, before being replaced in the team by

for the later rounds. Chen's first individual title of 2010 came at the

Bitburger Open The Hylo Open, formerly known as the BMW Badminton Cup, BMW Open, Bitburger Masters, Bitburger Open and SaarLorLux Open, is an international badminton tournament held at the Saarlandhalle in Saarbrücken, Germany, since 1988. It was sponsored by th ...

in Germany, where he beat Denmark's

Hans-Kristian Vittinghus Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus (born 16 January 1986) is a Danish badminton player. He was a member of the winning Denmark team at the 2016 Thomas Cup in Kunshan, China. Career Junior He won 4 junior national titles, 2 in singles in 2003 ...

21–3, 12–21, 21–9 in the final of the Grand Prix Gold event. His good form continued when he finished runner-up to teammate

Lin Dan Lin Dan (born 14 October 1983) is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic champion, five-time World champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of a ...

at the

China Masters The Fuzhou China Open, formerly known as China Masters, is an annual badminton tournament held in China. It became part of the BWF Super Series tournaments in 2007. In 2014 the level of the tournament was downgraded to BWF Grand Prix Gold because, ...

two weeks later, going down 15–21, 21–13, 14–21 to the reigning Olympic champion. Chen obtained a second team gold medal of the year with China at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

held in Guangzhou, but did not feature in the individual event. More success followed when he won the China Open Super Series two weeks later. His passage to the final included a controversial walkover by

in the quarter-finals and a hard-fought victory over current World champion Chen Jin in the semi-finals. In the final, he squared off against teammate

, emerging as the victor after 75 minutes of play. Chen's attempt at back-to-back Super Series titles came to an end at the hands of former Olympic champion

Taufik Hidayat Taufik Hidayat (born 10 August 1981) is an Indonesian retired badminton player. He is a former World, Olympic, Asian Games, and Asian champion, and the youngest world number one in the men's singles. Hidayat has won the Indonesia Open six tim ...

in the semi-final of the Hong Kong Open the following week. Chen's strong finish to the year saw his

world ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

rise to a career-high of 4th, briefly becoming the top ranked Chinese player.

2011: Three Superseries titles

In the first tournament of the new season, Chen Long was convincingly beaten by world number 1

Lee Chong Wei Datuk Lee Chong Wei (; born 21 October 1982) is a Malaysian former badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fifth Malay ...

in the semi-final of the Malaysia Open. It took just 39 minutes for the Malaysian to blow away the upcoming Chinese star with a score of 21–9, 21–9. The effects of the demoralising defeat were still evident a week later when Chen lost in the second round of the Korea Open to Japanese player

Kenichi Tago is a former badminton player from Japan. He is the son of former badminton player Yoshiko Yonekura. In 2010, he reached the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships. En route to the final he beat three seeded players including Nguy ...

. His first individual title of the year came at the Thailand Open, where he beat experienced Korean player

Lee Hyun-il Lee Hyun-il ( ko, 이현일; born 17 April 1980) is a former badminton player from South Korea. He is a former World and Asian Championships bronze medalist, and was part of South Korean team that won the 2003 Sudirman Cup as well the gold medal ...

in the final. In August, Chen was eliminated in the first round of the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

by unheralded Guatemalan player

Kevin Cordón Kevin Haroldo Cordón Buezo (born November 28, 1986) is a Guatemalan badminton player. He won two men's singles title at the Pan American Games, four title at the Pan Am Championships (3 in singles and 1 in doubles), and six title at the Centr ...

in what was one of the shock results of the tournament. Cordón emerged the victor after clinching the third set 27–25 in a thrilling encounter. Chen sprang back from his shock exit from the World Championships by winning his first

title after defeating his compatriot Chen Jin in the final. A week later, he won his first Japan Open by avenging his Malaysia Open loss to world number 1

in the final. In October, Chen won his third consecutive Super Series tournament with another victory over

, this time in the final of the

Denmark Open The Denmark Open, or formerly known as Danish Open, is an annual badminton tournament held in Denmark and organized by Badminton Denmark. The Denmark Open was part of the BWF Super Series Premier from 2011 to 2017. BWF categorised it as one of ...

in its first year as a Premier Super Series event. His highlights of the season were followed by an exit from the semi-finals of Hong Kong Open to his senior, Chen Jin and failure to defend his China Open title after losing to his compatriot,

, in the final. He ended year 2011 with another runner-up in Super Series Master Finals, being beaten by

again.

2012: Second Thomas Cup, Olympic bronze and First Superseries Finals title

In January, Chen reached the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open, where he lost to the home favorite,

in three games, 18-21, 21-17, 13-21. In March, he participated in the All England Open and was knocked out in the quarter-finals by

. He then reached the semi-finals of the

but was eliminated by

. In April, at the

Badminton Asia Championships The Badminton Asia Championships (formerly Asian Badminton Championships until 2006) is a tournament organized by governing body Badminton Asia to crown the best badminton players in Asia. The tournament started in 1962 and is held annually sin ...

, Chen lost in the semi-finals to his teammate,

Du Pengyu Du Pengyu (born 22 January 1988) is a Chinese former badminton player. Du specializes in men's singles where he has distinguished himself as one of China's top ranked male players. His earliest major success came at the 2010 Swiss Open Super Ser ...

. In May, at the

Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

, he won all the matches that he played in, thus helping China to clinch their ninth title. In June, Chen lost in the pre-quarterfinals of Indonesia Open, to

Parupalli Kashyap Parupalli Kashyap (born 8 September 1986) is an Indian badminton player. A former World No.6, he trains at Gopichand Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2012. He created history by reaching the qu ...

, 21–17, 21–14. In the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Chen was defeated in the semi-final of the men's singles competition by

of Malaysia, 21–13, 21–14, but went on to win bronze after defeating

in the bronze medal match. After the Olympics, Chen's form picked up tremendously, starting from winning the

in September, where he beat Hong Kong's

in the final. In October, he reached the semi-finals of the

but was eliminated by his compatriot

once again. In November, he won both the China Open and the Hong Kong Open, beating

Wang Zhengming Wang Zhengming (born 16 February 1990) is a Chinese badminton player from Guangzhou, Guangdong. He was the boys' singles gold medalists at the 2008 Asian and World Junior Championships. Career 2010 A World and Asian Junior Champion two y ...

and

respectively in the finals. At year-end,

BWF Superseries Finals The BWF Super Series Finals (named as BWF Super Series Masters Finals until 2009) was an annual badminton tournament held at the end of the year where the players with the most points from that calendar year's twelve events of the BWF Super Series c ...

, Chen managed to avenge his previous defeats to

on tours, by beating him in the final to win his first Superseries Finals title.

2013: First All England title and Sudirman Cup Champion

Chen carried his good form into the new season. In February, Chen won his first German Open title, defeating

Tommy Sugiarto Tommy Sugiarto (born 31 May 1988) is an Indonesian badminton player who is a singles specialist. He was the bronze medalist at the 2014 World Championships. Sugiarto competed at the 2014 Asian Games and 2016 Summer Olympics. Personal life ...

in the final. In March, Chen won convincingly against

in the 2013 All England Open in the finals, 21–17, 21–18. In April, at the

, Chen once again lost to his teammate,

, albeit in the final this time. Despite missing the last two Sudirman Cup editions in 2009 and 2011, Chen Long emerged as the first singles player to help China lift its fifth consecutive trophy in 2013 edition. At the

BWF World Championships The BWF World Championships, formerly known as IBF World Championships, and also known as the World Badminton Championships, is a badminton tournament sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). The tournament is one of the most prestigious i ...

held in August, Chen reached the quarter-finals but was defeated by

. He won the

against

, 24–22, 21-19, and then successfully defended his China Open title against compatriot

in three games.

2014: World Champion, Second Superseries Finals title and World #1

Chen started the year with a victory against

in the Korean Open. Then, he was unable to defend his All England title as he lost to

in the finals. He subsequently lost in the Indian Open finals to the same opponent. In May, Chen played first singles for China at the 2014 Thomas Cup. They were unable to defend their title as they lost 0–3 to Japan in the semifinals. Chen took the blame for the surprise loss of the Chinese Team, casting doubt on his ability to depose

as China's MS 'big brother'. Chen's poor start to the season continued deep into the summer, when he saw early-round knockouts in the Japan Open to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and Indonesian Open to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

's Jan Ø. Jørgensen. However, his fortune reversed at the most important competition of the year. On 31 August, Chen defeated

in the finals with a score of 21–19, 21–19 to win his first-ever World Championship title at

2014 BWF World Championships The 2014 BWF World Championships was a badminton tournament which was held from 25 to 31 August 2014 at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. Host city selection Copenhagen and Macau submitted bids for this of championships. Both citie ...

held in Copenhagen, breaking his 7-month title drought. He would then continue this excellent form for the rest of the season, defeating

in the final of the 2014 Denmark Super Series Premier, his 6th Super Series Premier title to date and first of the year. He would also make the finals of the

2014 Hong Kong Super Series The 2014 Hong Kong Super Series will be the twelfth super series tournament of the 2014 BWF Super Series. The tournament will be contested in Hong Kong from November 18–23, 2014 with a total purse of $350,000. A qualification will occur to fill ...

. Chen ended the season on a high note after winning the

2014 BWF Super Series Masters Finals The 2014 BWF Super Series Finals was the final competition of the 2014 BWF Super Series. It was held from December 17 to December 21 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Representatives by nation §: Ko Sung Hyun from Korea was the only players who ...

in Dubai, boasting a 3–0 record in the Group Stage and defeating

21–16, 21–10 in the final. With this victory, Chen ascended to World No.1, dethroning rival

and achieving the title of Year-End No.1 on the

BWF World Ranking The BWF World Ranking is the official ranking of the Badminton World Federation for badminton players who participate in tournaments sanctioned by Badminton World Federation. It is used to determine the qualification for the World Championships a ...

. This marked the first time in 6 years that a player other than

ended the year at the coveted No.1 ranking. Despite a slow start to the year, Chen's 2014 was characterised by his first-ever

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, solid victories at the

and Super Series Masters Finals, and for the first time achieving the rank of World No.1.

2015: Seven tour titles, Second All England, World Championships and Sudirman Cup titles

Starting the year as World No.1, Chen's first tournament of the season was the 2015 All England Super Series Premier, considered as the most reputable Super Series Premier title. Defeating compatriot

in straight sets (21-13, 21-12) en route to the finals, Chen won his second All England title in 3 years with a 15–21, 21–17, 21–15 over

Jan O Jorgensen Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

. Chen continued his winning form in his next tournament, the

2015 Malaysia Super Series Premier The 2015 Malaysia Super Series Premier was the third super series tournament of the 2015 BWF Super Series. The tournament took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from March 31–April 5, 2015 and had a total purse of $500,000. A qualification was he ...

, defeating

, this time with a tighter scoreline of 20–22, 21–13, 21–11. Two consecutive victories over

, long considered China's strongest badminton player in the men's singles discipline, was considered by many as Chen's resolute ascension to the position of China MS No.1. A second-round exit to

at the

2015 Singapore Super Series The 2015 Singapore Super Series was the fourth Super Series tournament of the 2015 BWF Super Series. The tournament took place in Singapore from April 7–12, 2015 with a total purse of $300,000. A qualification occurred to fill four places in al ...

and a semi-final loss at the

to compatriot

Tian Houwei Tian Houwei (; born 11 January 1992) is a badminton player from China. He was the 2009 World and Asian Junior Champions in the boys' singles event. Tian was part of the Chinese national team that won the silver medals at the 2013 Summer Univer ...

by way of walkover put a stop to Chen's tournament-winning streak. In May, Chen was part of the Chinese team that won the Sudirman Cup. Victory over

Viktor Axelsen Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is the 2017 and 2022 World champion and the 2020 Olympic champion. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships, beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final to become the ...

at the

2015 Australian Super Series The 2015 Australian Super Series was the fifth Super Series tournament of the 2015 BWF Super Series in badminton. The tournament was held in Sydney, Australia from 26 to 31 May 2015 with a total purse of $750,000. Players by nation Men's si ...

final with a score of 21–12, 14–21, 21-18 put Chen back in winning shape. This was followed by a quarter-finals exit at the 2015 Indonesia Super Series Premier, a tournament in which Chinese players routinely lose during the early stages. However, Chen would rediscover his form in the 2015 Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold with a victory over home favorite

Chou Tien-chen Chou Tien-chen (Chinese: 周天成; born 8 January 1990) is a Taiwanese badminton player. He became the first local shuttler in 17 years to win the men's singles title of the Chinese Taipei Open in 2016 since Indonesian-born Fung Permadi won i ...

. He would then defend his World Championship title at the

2015 BWF World Championships The 2015 BWF World Championships was a badminton tournament which was held from 10 to 16 August 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Host city selection Jakarta and Kunshan submitted bids to host the championships. Jakarta was awarded to host the event by ...

held in Jakarta. Chen reached the final of the championships with ease, winning in 2 sets over each of his opponents, including Japanese rising star and then-World No.4

Kento Momota is a Japanese badminton player. He is known to have a skillful and relentless play style on court. He has won several major badminton tournaments including two World Championships titles, two Asian Championships titles, and one All England t ...

21–9, 21–15 in the semi-finals. In a rematch of the 2014 final, Chen was again victorious over rival

, successfully defending his World Champion title with an easier scoreline of 21–14, 21–17. This marked the second World Championship title for Chen, which secured him the position of Year-End No. 1, again. Chen would follow this up with another Super Series victory at the 2015 Korea Open Super Series, during which he defeated unseeded

Ajay Jayaram Ajay Jayaram (born 28 September 1987) is an Indian retired badminton player from Chennai. He plays for the Mumbai Rockets in the Premier Badminton League. Jayaram is a champion of the Czech International and Dutch Open tournament. Ajay Jayara ...

21–14, 21–13 in the final. In October, Chen continued his fine form by defeating

in the final to win the Denmark Super Series Premier. This was Chen's 8th Super Series title, bringing his total SS (including Premier) tally to 16 and year-to-date titles to 7, the most he has achieved in one season. In November 2015, Chen reached the China Open final without losing a single set, however, a resurgent

proved tough to beat, losing the finals in two straight sets 21–15, 21-11, halting his 7 straight finals win in 2015. In December 2015, Chen made the semi-finals of the Super Series Finals in Dubai.

2016: Olympic gold

Chen's first tournament of the season was the All England Open, whereby he only reached the Round of 16 after being defeated by his compatriot

Xue Song Xue Song () (died 773), formally the Prince of Pingyang (), was a general of the Chinese rebel state Yan, who later submitted to and became a general of Tang Dynasty, from which Yan had rebelled. As was in the case of several other Yan generals ...

. In April, he participated in the Malaysia Open and finished as the runner-up, losing to

in the final. At the Singapore Open held in the same month, he lost in the quarter-finals to Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long Angus. Chen then followed up with two final appearances in his next two tournaments. Unfortunately, he did not win any of those, losing in the

to compatriot

and the

. At the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

, Chen Long was the second seed behind World No.1

of Malaysia. After defeating

Niluka Karunaratne Niluka Karunaratne ( Sinhala: නිලූක කරුණාරත්න; Tamil: நிலுக கருணாரத்ன) (born 13 February 1985) is a Sri Lankan badminton player who has competed at the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and 2020. His ...

of Sri Lanka 21–7, 21-10 and Poland's Adrian Dziółko 21–12, 21-9 during the Group Stage, Chen Long was qualified for the knockout rounds. In the quarter-finals, he defeated

of South Korea by a tight scoreline of 21–11, 18–21, 21–11, after which he defeated eventual bronze-medalist Denmark's

21–14, 21–15 in the semi-finals. Facing

in the Badminton Men's Singles final at the Pavilion 4,

Riocentro Riocentro is an exhibition and convention center located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Built in 1977, it is the largest exhibition center in Latin America. Notable events 1981 May Day attack On April 30, 1981, during a May Day music concert, Rio ...

on 20 August 2016, Chen Long clinched the Olympic gold medal after he defeated the Malaysian (Lee Chong Wei) and won the match in straight games with a score of 21–18, 21–18, earning his first Olympic gold medal. In November, Chen participated in the China Open and came in second to Denmark's

2017: First Asian Championships and Fourth China Open titles

In February, at the German Open, Chen reached the semi-finals but was defeated by

Wang Tzu-wei Wang Tzu-wei (Chinese: 王子維; born 27 February 1995) is a Taiwanese badminton player. He won his first international title at the 2014 New Zealand Open tournament. Wang competed at the 2017 Summer Universiade, where he won the gold medals in ...

in three games. In March, at the All England Open, Chen lost to

Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (;born 13 October 1990) is a Thai badminton player. He won his first career Superseries title by winning the Denmark Open on 23 October 2016, becoming the first Thai to win a men's singles title in a Superseries Premier to ...

in the Round of 16 in straight games, 16–21, 19–21. In April, at the

held in Wuhan, China, Chen defeated

in the rubble set game, 21–23, 21–11, 21–10, of the men's singles final and he gets his first Asian Championships title. In May, at the

2017 Sudirman Cup The 2017 Sudirman Cup (officially known as the 2017 Total BWF Sudirman Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the Sudirman Cup, the biennial international badminton championship contested by the mixed national teams of the membe ...

, Chen won all the three games he played in, but in the final, China lost to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

by 2–3. In June, at the Crown Group Australia Open, Chen lost to

Kidambi Srikanth Srikanth Kidambi (born 7 February 1993) is an Indian badminton player. A former world no. 1, Kidambi was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2018. and the Arjuna award in 2015. In 2021, he became the first Indian t ...

in the men's singles final in straight-set game, 20–22, 16–21. In August, at the Total BWF World Championships, Chen lost to

in the men's singles quarter-finals, 9–21, 10–21. He failed to defend his World Championship title of 2015. In November, at the China Open Superseries Premier in Tahoe, China, Chen defeated

in the men's singles final by the rubble set game, 21–16, 14–21, 21–13 and gets his fourth China Open title. At the Yonex–Sunrise Hong Kong Open, Chen lost to

by straight-set game, 14–21, 19–21. In the Dubai Superseries Final, Chen withdrew due to a knee injury.

2018: Third Thomas Cup and Second Asian Games Team gold

In January, Chen participated in the

Malaysia Masters The Malaysia Masters, began in 2009, is a badminton tournament at the Super 500 grade, formerly a Grand Prix Gold. The total prize money is now US$350,000, having previously been US$120,000. BWF categorised Malaysia Masters as one of the seven ...

and the

Indonesia Masters The Indonesia Masters is an international badminton tournament in BWF World Tour Super 500 (Super 750 in 2021). Formerly known as the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold, it was first held in 2010 in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, and change its venue in ...

and did not perform well. He was eliminated in the first round of the

and the quarter-finals of the

to Anthony Ginting on both occasions. In March, at the All England Open, Chen lost in the quarter-finals to the eventual champion,

Shi Yuqi Shi Yuqi (; Mandarin pronunciation: ; born 28 February 1996) is a Chinese badminton player. Shi Yuqi won his first Superseries title in the 2016 French Open. At the 2017 All England Open, he defeated 6-time champion Lin Dan to reach the final, ...

. At the

, he finished as runner-up after losing the

in the final. In May, he represented the national team in the 2018 Thomas Cup. In the group stage, he defeated

H. S. Prannoy Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar (born 17 July 1992), also known as H. S. Prannoy, is an Indian badminton player who currently trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. Prannoy originally hails from Thiruvananthapuram and has a ca ...

from India and

Brice Leverdez Brice Leverdez (born 9 April 1986) is a French badminton player. He was a champion at the 2013 Mediterranean Games, won a silver medal at the 2015 European Games, and a bronze medal at the 2018 European Championships. Career Leverdez started p ...

from France. In the quarter-finals, he defeated

Chou Tien-Chen Chou Tien-chen (Chinese: 周天成; born 8 January 1990) is a Taiwanese badminton player. He became the first local shuttler in 17 years to win the men's singles title of the Chinese Taipei Open in 2016 since Indonesian-born Fung Permadi won i ...

from Chinese Taipei. China beat Chinese Taipei 3–0. In the match against Indonesia in the semi-finals, he defeated Anthony Ginting in two sets. During the final match, China faced Japan. He lost his match against the 2018 World Champion and then World number 1

in two sets, but although he lost his match, China beat Japan 3–1 and won the

. In August, at the

, Chen lost in the semi-finals to his junior,

again, thus finishing with a bronze medal. At the

, he helps the Chinese team to win gold after defeating Indonesia in the final. In the individual event, he was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Anthony Ginting again. In September, Chen lost in the quarter-finals of both the Japan and China Open to

Khosit Phetpradab Khosit Phetpradab ( th, โฆษิต เพชรประดับ; born 8 July 1994) is a Thai badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger ...

and Anthony Ginting respectively. In October, he won his first

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

title by defeating

in the final. In November, Chen lost in the semi-finals to

, at the Fuzhou China Open.

2019: Third Sudirman Cup and Second French Open title

Chen began his season at the

where he reached the final but was defeated by

in straight games. He then participated in the

where he lost to

in the quarter-finals. In March, he was upset in the first round of the All England Open by Denmark youngster,

Rasmus Gemke Rasmus Gemke (born 11 January 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He was awarded the 2012 Badminton Denmark Comet of the Year. He was part of the Danish national U-19 team to win bronze at the 2015 European Junior Badminton Championships in Lubin ...

. Chen followed up his disappointment with a better showing at the

where he managed to reach the semi-finals before losing to

B. Sai Praneeth Bhamidipati Sai Praneeth (born 10 August 1992) is an Indian badminton player. He became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to win a bronze medal in the BWF World Championships in 2019 after Prakash Padukone in 1983. Sai Praneeth was ho ...

. In April, he reached the final of the Malaysia Open but lost to his compatriot

. At the Singapore Open, Chen was eliminated by Anthony Ginting in the quarter-finals. At

, he gave a walkover at the quarter-finals due to high fever. In May, Chen was part of the Chinese team that won the

Sudirman Cup The Sudirman Cup is an international badminton mixed team competition contested by member countries of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every two years since the inaugura ...

. In August, he participated in the

and lost to

Anders Antonsen Anders Antonsen (born 27 April 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He won the gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships in the boys singles event, and at the same year was awarded the European Young Player of the Year. Together with th ...

in the quarter-finals. In September, Chen was defeated by

in the semi-finals of the China Open. In October, Chen finished as a runner-up in the

, after losing the

again. He then rebounded by winning the

, his second consecutive and his first individual title of the year. At the end-year

BWF World Tour Finals The BWF World Tour Finals, officially HSBC BWF World Tour Finals, which succeeds BWF Super Series Finals, is an annual badminton tournament which is held every December of a year where the players with the most points from that calendar year's event ...

, he lost to Anthony Ginting in the semi-finals.

2020: Two quarter-finals appearances

In 2020, Chen participated in only two tournaments before the COVID-19 outbreak ended his season early. In January, he reached the quarter-finals of the

where he lost to

in three games. Similarly, in March, he reached the quarter-finals of the All England Open but lost to

Lee Zii Jia Lee Zii Jia (, born 29 March 1998) is a Malaysian badminton player. He was the men's singles gold medalist at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and won his first BWF Super 1000 title at the 2021 All England Open. Lee is the reigning men's singles ...

in straight games.

2021: Olympic silver

At the delayed

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, Chen's first tournament of the year, he managed to reach the final after defeating

Raul Must Raul Must (born November 9, 1987) is a badminton player from Estonia. He is a four time Olympian representing Estonia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics and also at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Must was a men ...

and

Pablo Abian Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People * Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer *Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer * Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist *Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo Bren ...

in the group stage,

in the Round of 16,

in the quarter-finals and Anthony Ginting in the semi-finals. However, in the final, he was not able to overcome

, thus failing to defend his title from 2016. After the Olympics, Chen received heavy criticism from the Chinese netizens, calling him “useless” and a “disgrace”. Zhang Jun, the head coach of the

Chinese Badminton Association Chinese Badminton Association () is a national non-governmental, non-profit sports organisation in China. It represents China in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) as well as the sport of badminton in ...

, then revealed that Chen's less-than-ideal performance may have been due to a blister on the ball of his foot that had developed during the group stage of the competition and it was so bad that he could not run. He added that he was touched by Chen’s fighting spirit to continue playing. In September, Chen participated in the Chinese National Championships and declared that it will be his last.

Personal life

Chen Long married former World No.1 badminton player

Wang Shixian Wang Shixian (; ; born 13 February 1990) is a retired Chinese professional badminton player. She is a former World No. 1 in women's singles. Career Wang Shixian was admitted into Chinese Junior National Team in 2005 and was soon promoted to ...

in 2017, after over a decade together. Wang gave birth to a son in June 2019. Chen Long's surname was actually pronounced Shèn but the word 谌 is pronounced chén when not used as a surname. As a result of this, mispronunciation happens a lot, and early in his career when he enrolled in China's athlete system his surname was registered incorrectly as Chen. He tried to correct it but failed because of bureaucracy and finally let go of it.

Achievements

Olympic Games

''Men's singles''

World Championships

''Men's singles''

Asian Games

''Men's singles''

Asian Championships

''Men's singles''

World Junior Championships

''Boys' singles''

Asian Junior Championships

''Boys' singles''

BWF World Tour (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...

(BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100. ''Men's singles''

BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the

(BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year. ''Men's singles'' :

tournament : BWF Superseries Premier tournament :

BWF Superseries The BWF Super Series was a series of Grade 2 badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). It was launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007. Since 2011, the Super Series includes two levels of tournament, ...

tournament

BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

(BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. ''Men's singles'' : BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament : BWF Grand Prix tournament

Performance timeline

Record against selected players

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Long 1989 births Living people People from Jingzhou Badminton players from Hubei Chinese male badminton players Badminton players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of China Olympic gold medalists for China Olympic silver medalists for China Olympic bronze medalists for China Olympic medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2010 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2014 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games silver medalists for China Asian Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games World No. 1 badminton players BWF Best Male Player of the Year 20th-century Chinese people 21st-century Chinese people