Zhang Jun (; born November 26, 1977 in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

) is a former male

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 p ...

player from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He is now a coach with the Chinese national team following his retirement from international play.

Career

As a doubles specialist, the solidly built Zhang Jun won several international men's doubles titles with compatriot Zhang Wei including the Swiss (1998),

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(2001), and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

(2005) Opens. However, the majority of his titles, and the most prestigious ones, came in mixed doubles with the formidable

Gao Ling Gao Ling (; born 14 March 1979) is a Chinese former badminton player. Career Noted for her consistency, anticipation, forecourt prowess, and sporting smile, Gao is one of the most successful doubles players in the history of women's badminton. ...

. These included consecutive gold medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, earned by surviving a number of tight matches, particularly in 2000 when they were on the verge of elimination in the semifinals. In similar fashion, Zhang and Gao captured the 2001 IBF World Championships by squeezing past the brilliant

Kim Dong-moon Kim Dong-moon (Hangul: 김동문, Hanja: 金東文; born 22 September 1975) is a retired South Korean badminton player who won major titles between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s (decade), and widely regarded as one of finest men's doubles and m ...

and partner

Ra Kyung-min Ra Kyung-min (; born 25 November 1976) is a badminton player from South Korea. Ra was a dominating mixed doubles team with her partner Kim Dong-moon from the late 1990s to early 2000s, resulting in a 70–match winning streak and 14 consecutive ...

17-16 in the third game. Zhang's other titles with Gao included three victories (2001, 2003, and 2006) at the prestigious All-England Championships; the Badminton Asia Championships in 2002; 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, ...

in 2005; and the

(2002, 2003),

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(2003),

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

(2004),

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

(2004, 2006),

(2005),

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

(2005), and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

(2006) Opens. Zhang had the honor of being an Olympic torch carrier at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Games. After retirement, Zhang Jun coached the Chinese Badminton National Team. He was promoted to head coach of the national badminton doubles team in 2017, before being selected as vice chairman 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 ...

(CBA) in 2018. On January 28, 2019, Zhang Jun was elected as the chairman of Chinese Badminton Association. Zhang Jun, as president of the Chinese Badminton Association, competed with Khunying Patama, his counterpart from the

Badminton Association of Thailand Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT, th, สมาคมแบดมินตันแห่งประเทศไทย), officially known as Badminton Association of Thailand Under Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King ( th, สมา� ...

and Anton Aditya Subowo, president of

Badminton Asia The Badminton Asia is the governing body of badminton in Asia. It is one of the 5 continental bodies under the flag of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The confederation was established in 1959, headquartered in Malé, Maldives. It aims to m ...

, for the position of BWF deputy president but lost; Patama was elected deputy president in May 2019, during 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 inaugural ...

tournament in Nanning,

Personal life

Zhang Jun married synchronised swimmer Hu Ni in 2006. Their son was born in 2009. (Zhang Jun's former doubles partner Cai Yun, whom he later also coached, married Hu Ni's teammate Wang Na in 2010.)

Achievements

Olympic Games

''Mixed doubles''

World Championships

''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

Asian Championships

''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) since 1983. ''Men's doubles''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Jun 1977 births Living people Badminton players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of China Olympic gold medalists for China Sportspeople from Suzhou Badminton players from Jiangsu Olympic medalists in badminton Asian Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2002 Asian Games Badminton players at the 1998 Asian Games Chinese male badminton players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Chinese badminton coaches Asian Games silver medalists for China Asian Games bronze medalists for China Nanjing Sport Institute alumni Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games