SHANGHAI: After competing alongside her star boyfriend, Lin Dan, on the badminton court, China's former women's singles world No 1 Xie Xingfang has decided to support her sweetheart in another way in retirement - by getting behind him.
"In retirement I want to live a real ordinary life I want to be the woman that cooks soup for Lin," said the 28-year-old Xie, who officially announced her retirement on Sunday.
"When both of us were athletes, he always took time to watch my matches and made suggestions.
"Now that I am retired, he can focus on his own play."
On the final day of the China Open on Sunday in Shanghai, the Chinese badminton national team held a farewell ceremony for Xie and women's doubles player Zhao Tingting, marking the official retirement of the two world champions.
Less than two hours later, Lin beat Jan Jorgensen of Denmark to defend his men's singles title. That was his fourth title at the tournament, making him the most successful player in the event's history.
Xie did not compete at the event where she won the women's singles title in 2004. However, she was in the stands cheering for Lin throughout the tournament.
Xie appears comfortable leaving the game she took up at the age of seven.
"It took a long time for me to make the retirement decision. So when it came, I did not feel emotional."
She is now looking forward to life after retirement.
"Now Lin Dan's job is to earn money and I am responsible for spending it," Xie said.
"I have tried different cuisine while competing around the world and I have always wanted to learn cooking.
"Continuing to study has always been my dream as well and the most important thing is to learn English.
"Lin also wants to learn English but he won't have much time to study before the London Games. So, I want to learn first and be his interpreter."
The Xie-Lin romance came to light at the 2004 Thomas Cup when the media caught them kissing.
Since then they have become comfortable with the attention on and off the court. They have appeared courtside at each other's matches and have posed together for fashion magazines. At the 2007 All-England Open, where both claimed the singles titles, Lin presented Xie with a bunch of roses and a kiss at the awards ceremony.
Lin, the undisputed king of the men's badminton, said he understood his girlfriend's decision.
"Now, the most important thing for Xie is to start her second stage of life," Lin said. "We should give her some time to decide what she wants to do..
"As her teammate and boyfriend I am very happy that there are lots of people to support her. I also hope her fans will support her like before."
People close to the couple expect to hear wedding bells soon but the pair has declined to comment on that matter.
Although declaring she has no set plans in retirement, Xie, a Guangdong native, has joined the Guangzhou Asian Games organizing committee. She also said she might consider playing in the Chinese Badminton League.
"I have a deep love of sports, so I may continue to support sports in retirement," Xie said.
Her contribution to badminton was praised by her coach.
"I didn't want her to retire as she is still such a good player but I can understand her choice as she is about to turn to 30," said Li Yongbo, head coach of the Chinese national team. "I hope she does well in the future and I will always support her and give her help when she needs it."
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
BWF WORLD SUPER SERIES - YONEX FRENCH OPEN: China's top guns make a return
With the recent ending of the Denmark Open in Odense, the badminton caravan is now flying to Paris for the second leg of the European Super Series. With the whole team of China back in the loop, only Lee Chong Wei and the Koreans are missing.
Usually, Asians either travel to both European events, or none. This time, after their National Games, most of the Chinese shuttlers had withdrawn from the Denmark Open – a shame considering the quality of the organization.
But the French organizers can be reassured – the whole Chinese team is already in Paris, ready to take on the other best shuttlers in the world.
The men’s singles will have a very strong line up in spite of the absence of the 2007 champion Lee Chong Wei, who is still undergoing treatment in Malaysia after his knee injury became more troublesome in the recent Yonex Japan Open. FrenchOpen-wanglin
Top seed will then be Lin Dan, a spot he’s had left for quite some time in spite of his Olympic Gold medal – the Chinese, having played a lot less tournaments than his direct rivals had slipped down the ranking.
This time, the Chinese will hope to shine in an event he’s never won, having skipped 2008 and beaten in 2007’s semi-finals by Bao Chunlai. After having scooped a second National Games title in Qindao last week, Lin Dan might have to start the tournament on a high note : he could be playing Anup Shridar or Anand Pawar from India, who are to play against each other in the qualifying – unless Ireland’s Scott Evans or Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen pull an upset on Tuesday.
The Chinese would then probably face Hans Kristian Vinttinghus of Denmark “I hope he shows up and if he does, I’d absolutely would love to play and beat him,” said Vitthingus, before adding : “ but I will be aware of my first round against qualifying player as there is no easy rounds in Super Series”. Lin Dan could then meet Joachim Persson in the quarter – if Simon Santoso allows that to happen, while Chen Jin and Wong Choong Hann are set to play each other in the other quarter-final. Chen, however, will take on last week’s Hero, Marc Zwiebler, in his first round.
The lower part of the draw will be quite interesting as well. With Peter Gade as second seed and Jan Jorgensen as a potential opponent for the great Dane, giving Gade the perfect opportunity to avenge his defeat in Odense last week.
No easy path, then for the great Dane. And, also, in the semi final, awaits the shadow of Taufik HIdayat, which could be a rematch of last’s year final, where Hidayat had blamed a blister on his foot for his last game loss. Taufik has the easiest draw in theory, with Hafiz, Chan Yan Kit and Chen Long in his part, who are good shuttlers on paper, but who have failed to prove much on the court lately. FrenchOpen-markis-hendra
In the women’s singles, Pi Hongyan will be hoping to shine in front of her home crowd, as she had in 2007 when she had reached the final, bowing only to Xie Xingfang in the final. This time, no Xie, No Zhang Ning to get in her way, but just herself as she 30 year old has been feeling in a poor form.
And her draw could see her play Eriko Hirose as the Japanese has to go through qualifying to make it to the main draw in spite of her recent semi-finals in Japan and Denmark. China’s Wang Lin and Wang Yihan will be eager to shine, with the former coming from Qindao with a golden medal around her neck after she was crowned in her home National Games.
Wang Lin will take on Japan’s new rising star Sayaka Sato in the first round to hope for a quarter final revenge against Saina Nehwal, who had beaten her in Indonesia this year. Wang Yihan is seeded third and has no easy task as she is to play her younger compatriot Wang Xin as early as the first round before a potential quarter final against the world Champion Lu Lan.
The men’s doubles draw looks pretty much the same as last week in Denmark with one extra adding – not the least- China’s Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. The Olympic silver medalists are back together after having split last year in the French Open, and once again few weeks ago when they represented their provinces in the China National Games.
Cai Yun had beaten his partner Fu in the men’s doubles final, but their reunification for the event held in Paris could be bad news for their opponents, who didn’t look in their best forms – except Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen and Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong. FrenchOpen-rytter-frier
Top seeds Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan are on for two rounds against Japanese pairs probably, while the highlight of the first rounds will be a match between 5th seeds Fairuzizuan/Abdul Latif and the newer Indonesian pair of Yonathan Dasuki and Rian Sukmawan.
Even when they sent only one scratch pair, China dominated the women’s doubles in Denmark last week, with Pan Pan and Zhang Yawen crowned champions in Odense. This week in Paris, three other pairs – better on paper – will be entering the draw – no good news for the rest of the world. Especially since the Koreans have not entered, it might be an all China affair, with the draw giving only one quarter left without a Chinese pair – a part of the draw which could see Lena Frier Kristiansen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl (for their last tournament together), Greysia Polii/Maheswari or Japan’s Miyuki Maeda/Satoko Suetsuna come on top.
Malaysia’s Chin and Wong are top seed and start with a Bye but can expect a tough fight from Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli as early as the quarters. Olympic Champions Du Jing and Yu Yang might have to play their compatriots Zhang and Pan in the quarters while Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei are promised a semi final spot in the lower part of the draw.
The mixed double event should be quite open. If Korea’s Lee Young Dae and Lee Hyo Jung are missing, and the duo of Thomas Laybourn/Juhl probably to skip as well unless Laybourn’s knee recovered fasters than expected, all other top pairs are in the draw. China’s Zheng Bo and Ma Jin are back on top of the draw, with Antony Clark and Donna Kellogg as second rounds potential opponents.
Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia are second seeds with qualifiers for a start, who could be Koo Kien Keat and Wong Pei Tty. They are set to meet up with Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen for another world championship rematch in the semis. The Danish will be all fired up after their success in Denmark this Sunday. They’ll have to go past He Hanbin and Yu Yang first, in the quarters as the Beijing bronze medalist stand in their way as 5th seeds.
edit post
Usually, Asians either travel to both European events, or none. This time, after their National Games, most of the Chinese shuttlers had withdrawn from the Denmark Open – a shame considering the quality of the organization.
But the French organizers can be reassured – the whole Chinese team is already in Paris, ready to take on the other best shuttlers in the world.
The men’s singles will have a very strong line up in spite of the absence of the 2007 champion Lee Chong Wei, who is still undergoing treatment in Malaysia after his knee injury became more troublesome in the recent Yonex Japan Open. FrenchOpen-wanglin
Top seed will then be Lin Dan, a spot he’s had left for quite some time in spite of his Olympic Gold medal – the Chinese, having played a lot less tournaments than his direct rivals had slipped down the ranking.
This time, the Chinese will hope to shine in an event he’s never won, having skipped 2008 and beaten in 2007’s semi-finals by Bao Chunlai. After having scooped a second National Games title in Qindao last week, Lin Dan might have to start the tournament on a high note : he could be playing Anup Shridar or Anand Pawar from India, who are to play against each other in the qualifying – unless Ireland’s Scott Evans or Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen pull an upset on Tuesday.
The Chinese would then probably face Hans Kristian Vinttinghus of Denmark “I hope he shows up and if he does, I’d absolutely would love to play and beat him,” said Vitthingus, before adding : “ but I will be aware of my first round against qualifying player as there is no easy rounds in Super Series”. Lin Dan could then meet Joachim Persson in the quarter – if Simon Santoso allows that to happen, while Chen Jin and Wong Choong Hann are set to play each other in the other quarter-final. Chen, however, will take on last week’s Hero, Marc Zwiebler, in his first round.
The lower part of the draw will be quite interesting as well. With Peter Gade as second seed and Jan Jorgensen as a potential opponent for the great Dane, giving Gade the perfect opportunity to avenge his defeat in Odense last week.
No easy path, then for the great Dane. And, also, in the semi final, awaits the shadow of Taufik HIdayat, which could be a rematch of last’s year final, where Hidayat had blamed a blister on his foot for his last game loss. Taufik has the easiest draw in theory, with Hafiz, Chan Yan Kit and Chen Long in his part, who are good shuttlers on paper, but who have failed to prove much on the court lately. FrenchOpen-markis-hendra
In the women’s singles, Pi Hongyan will be hoping to shine in front of her home crowd, as she had in 2007 when she had reached the final, bowing only to Xie Xingfang in the final. This time, no Xie, No Zhang Ning to get in her way, but just herself as she 30 year old has been feeling in a poor form.
And her draw could see her play Eriko Hirose as the Japanese has to go through qualifying to make it to the main draw in spite of her recent semi-finals in Japan and Denmark. China’s Wang Lin and Wang Yihan will be eager to shine, with the former coming from Qindao with a golden medal around her neck after she was crowned in her home National Games.
Wang Lin will take on Japan’s new rising star Sayaka Sato in the first round to hope for a quarter final revenge against Saina Nehwal, who had beaten her in Indonesia this year. Wang Yihan is seeded third and has no easy task as she is to play her younger compatriot Wang Xin as early as the first round before a potential quarter final against the world Champion Lu Lan.
The men’s doubles draw looks pretty much the same as last week in Denmark with one extra adding – not the least- China’s Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. The Olympic silver medalists are back together after having split last year in the French Open, and once again few weeks ago when they represented their provinces in the China National Games.
Cai Yun had beaten his partner Fu in the men’s doubles final, but their reunification for the event held in Paris could be bad news for their opponents, who didn’t look in their best forms – except Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen and Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong. FrenchOpen-rytter-frier
Top seeds Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan are on for two rounds against Japanese pairs probably, while the highlight of the first rounds will be a match between 5th seeds Fairuzizuan/Abdul Latif and the newer Indonesian pair of Yonathan Dasuki and Rian Sukmawan.
Even when they sent only one scratch pair, China dominated the women’s doubles in Denmark last week, with Pan Pan and Zhang Yawen crowned champions in Odense. This week in Paris, three other pairs – better on paper – will be entering the draw – no good news for the rest of the world. Especially since the Koreans have not entered, it might be an all China affair, with the draw giving only one quarter left without a Chinese pair – a part of the draw which could see Lena Frier Kristiansen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl (for their last tournament together), Greysia Polii/Maheswari or Japan’s Miyuki Maeda/Satoko Suetsuna come on top.
Malaysia’s Chin and Wong are top seed and start with a Bye but can expect a tough fight from Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli as early as the quarters. Olympic Champions Du Jing and Yu Yang might have to play their compatriots Zhang and Pan in the quarters while Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei are promised a semi final spot in the lower part of the draw.
The mixed double event should be quite open. If Korea’s Lee Young Dae and Lee Hyo Jung are missing, and the duo of Thomas Laybourn/Juhl probably to skip as well unless Laybourn’s knee recovered fasters than expected, all other top pairs are in the draw. China’s Zheng Bo and Ma Jin are back on top of the draw, with Antony Clark and Donna Kellogg as second rounds potential opponents.
Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia are second seeds with qualifiers for a start, who could be Koo Kien Keat and Wong Pei Tty. They are set to meet up with Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen for another world championship rematch in the semis. The Danish will be all fired up after their success in Denmark this Sunday. They’ll have to go past He Hanbin and Yu Yang first, in the quarters as the Beijing bronze medalist stand in their way as 5th seeds.
edit post
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Five Singles Players March Into Fourth Round
ALOR SETAR, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- Five Malaysian singles players - three men and two women - marched into the fourth round of the World Junior Badminton Championships at the Sultan Abdul Halim Indoor Stadium Thursday.
Leading the charge was Sonia Cheah Su Ya, the younger sister of national senior women's singles player Lydia Cheah, who beat Japan's Sayaka Takahasi 22-20, 21-16 in straight sets.
The 16-year-old Kuala Lumpur lass, making her debut here will next face her toughest hurdle tomorrow when she faces Xiaojia Chen of China, the top seed in the competition.
"I am happy with my performance so far because I was able to beat a number of seeded players in the championships," she told reporters after here match.
National women's junior ace Tee Jing Yi also booked her ticket to the fourth round of the women's singles with an easy 21-14, 21-13 win over Thailand's Jindapol Nitchaon.
Three men's singles players Zulfadli Zulkifli, Misbun Ramdan Mohamed Misbun and Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin also joined the duo in the fourth round after beating their respective opponents.
Iskandar, the country's number one junior player, cruised past Singapore's Gerard Ong Soon Lee 21-16, 21-11 before Zulfadli overcame India's Pranoy H.S 24-22, 21-12 while Misbun Sidek's son Misbun Ramdan encountered a tougher opponent in Ari Trisnanto from Indonesia and had to go the distance before winning 21-11, 21-23, 21-19 in three sets.
Leading the charge was Sonia Cheah Su Ya, the younger sister of national senior women's singles player Lydia Cheah, who beat Japan's Sayaka Takahasi 22-20, 21-16 in straight sets.
The 16-year-old Kuala Lumpur lass, making her debut here will next face her toughest hurdle tomorrow when she faces Xiaojia Chen of China, the top seed in the competition.
"I am happy with my performance so far because I was able to beat a number of seeded players in the championships," she told reporters after here match.
National women's junior ace Tee Jing Yi also booked her ticket to the fourth round of the women's singles with an easy 21-14, 21-13 win over Thailand's Jindapol Nitchaon.
Three men's singles players Zulfadli Zulkifli, Misbun Ramdan Mohamed Misbun and Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin also joined the duo in the fourth round after beating their respective opponents.
Iskandar, the country's number one junior player, cruised past Singapore's Gerard Ong Soon Lee 21-16, 21-11 before Zulfadli overcame India's Pranoy H.S 24-22, 21-12 while Misbun Sidek's son Misbun Ramdan encountered a tougher opponent in Ari Trisnanto from Indonesia and had to go the distance before winning 21-11, 21-23, 21-19 in three sets.
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