Zhang Ning (; born 19 May 1975) is a former Chinese

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. She won the Olympic gold medal twice for women's singles in both

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. 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 Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

singles gold medals. She also became World champion in 2003 and has a total of five medals of all colours in the competition. Zhang first represented China in the

Uber Cup The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Women's Team Championships, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956–1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contes ...

(women's world team championship) competition in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and last represented it in

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. 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.

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 Badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Goudi Olympic Hall at the Goudi Olympic Complex Goudi Olympic Complex is a sports complex in Athens, Greece. It held two of the sports venues used during the 2004 Summer Olympics. Goudi Oly ...

for China. In women's singles, she defeated

Marina Andrievskaya Marina Vladimirovna Andrievskaya (russian: Марина Владимировна Андриевская; born 20 November 1974) is a former Soviet badminton player, and later represented Sweden. She won the silver medal at the 2000 European Bad ...

of Sweden and

Kelly Morgan Kelly Ann Aston (, born 22 May 1975) is a Welsh badminton player. She has represented Wales and Great Britain in regional and international competitions, including the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the 1998 Commonwealth ...

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 ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Mia Audina Mia Audina Tjiptawan (born 22 August 1979) is a former Indonesian badminton player who represented Indonesia and later the Netherlands in international competitions. A badminton prodigy, Audina first played Uber Cup (the women's world team champi ...

8-11, 11-6, 11-7 in the final to win the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. It was sweet revenge for the 29-year-old, who had lost to Audina 10 years earlier in the decisive match of the

. 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 Lucia Francisca "Susi" Susanti Haditono (; born 11 February 1971) is an Indonesia retired badminton player. Relatively small of stature, she combined quick and graceful movement with elegant shotmaking technique, and is regarded by many as one o ...

and

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 ...

2005

Zhang also claimed many titles after her breakthrough wins. She bested

Xie Xingfang Xie Xingfang (born January 8, 1981) is a retired Chinese badminton player from Guangzhou, Guangdong. She is a former defending two-time world champion for women's singles, and former women's singles World No. 1. Her first big title was in girl ...

in the 2005 China Open 3-11, 11-4, 11-8, but in the 2005 World Championships final Zhang fell to

, 8-11, 11-9, 3-11.

2006

In 2006, Zhang reached the finals 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, ...

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 had 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 Datin Wong Mew Choo (born 1 May 1983) is a Malaysian former badminton singles player. She was known for her exceptional stamina and endurance. Without any significant attacking weapons, she initially built her game on her ability to endure long ...

, 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 Danish Open may refer to: * Denmark Open a badminton tournament * Danish Open (golf) a defunct golf tournament * Danish Open (tennis) The Danish Open (sponsored as the e-Boks Open) was a professional women's tennis tournament played 2010–12 on in ...

, 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 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 ...

, but was upset by local hope

Pi Hongyan Pi Hongyan (; born 25 January 1979) is a former Chinese badminton player, who later represented France. Career Pi Hongyan is one of a number of talented Chinese-born badminton players who have emigrated from China, in part, because of the inte ...

. In the China Open, Zhang lost in straight sets to Malaysia's

in the semi-finals. Zhang cited injury and fatigue as the main reasons 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 Jun Jae-Youn or Jeon Jae-Yeon (born 9 February 1983) is a South Korean badminton player. Born in Pocheon, Jun was part of the Korea National Sport University. She was the champion at the 2004 Asian Championships in the women's singles event. Sh ...

in the third round. She then subdued fifth-seeded

of France and Indonesia's

Maria Kristin Yulianti Maria Kristin Yulianti (born 25 June 1985) is an Indonesian badminton player. She is a bronze medalist in Badminton at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's singles, women's singles at the 2008 Olympics. Career 2004 Yulianti played in some s ...

21-15, 21-15 to reach the final. There she faced compatriot and world number 1

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 The 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the ''Bird's Nest''.

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. She was in tears receiving an award during the ceremony to mark her retirement with five other teammates from the Chinese national badminton team on the sidelines of the China Open badminton event in Shanghai, November 23, 2008. 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. In 2018 however she was replaced by

Luo Yigang Luo Yigang (; born 22 March 1975) is a retired Chinese badminton player and currently serving as national badminton coach of Chinese team. Career Luo Yigang is a former star in China's men's singles. He has a high savvy, comprehensive techniqu ...

as the coach of China's women's badminton team following the below par performance of team at the Uber Cup.

Achievements

Olympic Games

''Women's singles''

World Championships

''Women's singles''

World Cup

''Women's singles''

Asian Championships

''Women's singles''

Asian Cup

''Women's singles''

East Asian Games

''Women's singles'' ''Women's doubles''

BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented 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 ...

, 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). BWF Superseries has two levels, the Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries features twelve tournaments around the world, introduced in 2011, with successful players invited to the

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 ...

held at the year's end. ''Women's singles'' : Superseries tournament : Superseries Premier tournament : Superseries Finals tournament

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006. ''Women's singles'' ''Women's doubles''

Record against selected opponents

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Ning 1975 births Living people Badminton players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Badminton players from Liaoning Olympic badminton players of China Olympic gold medalists for China People from Jinzhou Olympic medalists in badminton Asian Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2002 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2006 Asian Games Badminton players at the 1998 Asian Games Chinese female badminton players Chinese badminton coaches Asian Games gold medalists for China Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games World No. 1 badminton players