Different strokes for badminton's love birds in 2009
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"Super Dan" spearheaded a triumphant Chinese team on the international badminton stage last year although his girlfriend, Xie Xingfang, a former world No 1, called it quits.
As was widely predicted, China wrapped up the Sudirman Cup world team badminton championships in Guangzhou in May by beating South Korea 3-0 in the final. It was the team's third straight lien on the prestigious trophy and seventh in total.
Three months later, China won four of the five gold medals up for grabs, plus three silver and three bronze, at the World Championships in Hyderabad, India. It equaled the team's second best achievement at the Worlds. China also became the first country in 71 years to sweep all five titles at the All-England Open Badminton Championships.
The team's winning streak was led by the reigning world and Olympic champion, Lin Dan.
After claiming the men's singles title at the 2008 Bejing Olympic Games, "Super Dan" went on to consolidate his status as the undisputed No 1 in the sport with an almost perfect 2009 in which he won eight titles while losing only four matches.
The 26-year-old became the first badminton player to win three World Championships singles titles in a row by upsetting national teammate Chen Jin in the final in Hyderabad. At the National Games, the defending champion won with ease, defeating Bao Chunlai 21-11, 21-3 in a 35-minute final.
"The deep love I have for badminton is the motivation for me to keep making progress," Lin said. "I will start all over again and regard myself as a freshman who is eager to train and compete every day. I will try to work hard and save my best form for the London Games," Lin said.
National coach Li Yongbo regards Lin as the best men's player of the past decade.
"Lin is only 26 and has won 12 world titles. He has been the best men's singles players in the world for nearly 10 years," Li said. "I believe he should be able to maintain his good form in the coming years. He is capable of competing strongly at the London Games (in 2012) and could step on to the highest podium again."
While Lin has set a goal of defending his title at the London Games, his long-time girlfriend, China's former women's singles world No 1 Xie, decided to call it a day and support her sweetheart.
"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 in November.
The retirements of Xie and Zhang Ning, two-time Olympic gold medalist and current coach of the national squad, sees a strong group of youngsters competing to replace them as leaders.
They include the world's current top two players, Wang Yihan and Wang Lin, reigning world champion Lu Lan, 2005 National Games champion Jiang Yanjiao, last year's Malaysia Open champion Wang Shixian and the 2009 Philippine Open Grand Prix champion, Wang Xin. All are about 20 years old.
Although the younger generation of female players dominated the courts last year, the national head coach says a real leader of the squad won't emerge until about a year before the London Olympics.
"The London Games are still three years away so to decide on a leader right now is not good for the team," said Li. "The players are still quite young. A group of six or seven players has emerged as (leadership) candidates and in two years time they will be more mature. I am sure in 2011 we will find the right one to take over the roles of Zhang and Xie as the new backbone of the team."
While Lin and the women are looking forward to more world titles this year, including the August World Championships in Paris and the Asian Games in Guangzhou in November, those who struggle to reach the world stage got good news as the domestic professional league will restart after a seven-year hiatus.
To classify the teams, a qualifying event was held last November and the top eight clubs will compete in the highest-level league, which is scheduled to start in May.
First launched in 1999 with three teams, the badminton league original lasted three years before a shortage of funds led to its demise. However, the relaunched league has already secured 20 million yuan ($2.93 million) in sponsorship.
The league will adopt the system of the Sudirman Cup, which consists of men's and women's singles and doubles and mixed doubles, said coach Li.
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