Chen Hong (badminton)
Career
During the first few years of the 21st century, Chen ranked among the world's elite singles players, reaching a number one position in 2002–2003. He won the Swedish Open and nineteen-year-old Asian Championships in 1999.
His later titles were Dutch (2000), Singapore (2002, 2003), Denmark (2002, 2006), Malaysia (2003), China (2005, 2006) and Thailand (2007) Opens. He conquered the coveted All-England Championships twice, 2002 and 2005, defeating on the second occasion his highly formidable fellow countryman Lin Dan. He played 6 straight times in All England between 2001 and 2006, his first All England reached the final, losing to Indian star Pullela Gopichand, 15-12 15-6. His IBF World Championship and 2004 Olympic Games performances were not among his finest.
He was a bronze medallist (semifinalist) at the 2001 and 2006 World Championships and was ousted in Athens' semifinals. At IBF World Championships 2006, Chen recorded a 303 km/h jump smash versus Taufik Hidayat. Chen retired from competitive 2007.
Chen Long
Chen Long (Chinese: ubiquitous; pinyin: Chén Lóng; Mandarin pronunciation: ubiquitous; born January 18, 1989), Chinese professional badminton player. He is the ruling Olympic Champion, twice World Champion and Asian Champion.
Chen occupied the top men's singles in 76 straight weeks from December 2014 to June 2016. He started his success on the international scene by capturing the boys' single championship in the 2007 Asian and World Junior Championships, and then won his first professional tournament at the 2009 Philippines Open.
Career
Born in Shashi District, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, Chen showed his skill as a badminton player when he was young and entered Jingzhou Sports School at age 7 in 1996. He joined Xiamen in 2000 and was selected to join the national youth squad in 2005. In 2006, Chen joined the second national team
2007–2008: Asian and World Junior Champion
Chen debuted as an Asian Junior Champion in 2007, winning the World Junior Championships in 2007. The Chinese squad also won the 2007 Suhandinata Cup.
Chen was named for the first national team in 2008.
2009–2010
Chen earned his first professional title in the final at Hong Kong's Grand Prix Gold, 2009 Philippines Open.
Chen participated in January's Korea Open Super Series. He reached semi-finals before losing to Danish player Peter Gade, 13–21, 21–10, 17–21. A week later, at the Malaysia Open, he lost Thailand's opening round to Boonsak Ponsana.
He achieved a remarkable victory against 8th seed Jan Ø in the All England Open in March, but in the first round Jørgensen fell to Korea's Son Wan-ho 18–21, 21–18, 19–21. He followed this disappointment with his greatest result in a Super Series tournament by making it through to the Swiss Open final, where he finished runner-up to Chen Jin.
Chen was part of the Chinese squad winning gold at Kuala Lumpur's 2010 Thomas Cup. He only featured in their initial match against Peru, taking 31 minutes to beat his opponent, before being replaced for later rounds by Bao Chunlai in the team. Chen's first individual 2010 triumph came at the Bitburger Open in Germany, when he beat Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21–3, 12–21, 21–9 in the Grand Prix Gold final. His good form continued as he came runner-up to Lin Dan at the China Masters two weeks later, down to the reigning Olympic champion 15–21 21–13 14–21.
Chen won a second year's team gold medal with China at the Guangzhou Asian Games, but did not feature in the individual event. More success followed two weeks after winning the China Open Super Series. His final passage includes a contentious quarter-final walkover by Lin Dan, and a hard-fought win over current semi-final World Champion Chen Jin.
He squared off against colleague Bao Chunlai, emerging the winner after 75 minutes of play. Chen's effort at back-to-back Super Series wins ended with former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat in the Hong Kong Open semi-final the following week. Chen's impressive year-end finish saw his global rating jump to a 3rd-high career, shortly becoming the top Chinese player.
2011
In the new season's opening tournament, world number 1 Lee Chong Wei comfortably beat Chen Long in the Malaysia Open semi-final. It took the Malaysian just 39 minutes to blast off the rising Chinese star with 21–9, 21–9. The demoralising defeat's repercussions were still obvious a week later when Chen lost to Japanese player Kenichi Tago in the Korea Open second round. His first individual year triumph came at the Thailand Open, where he upset Korean player Lee Hyun-il in final.
In August, Guatemalan player Kevin Cordón eliminated Chen in the first round of the World Championships in what was one of the tournament's shock upsets. Cordón emerged in an exciting fight after claiming the third set 27–25. Chen surged back from his World Championship shock-out capturing his first China Masters championship after defeating his countryman Chen Jin in the final. A week later, after avenging his Malaysia Open loss to world number 1 Lee Chong Wei, he won his first Japan Open. In October, Chen won his third consecutive Super Series tournament with another triumph over Lee Chong Wei, this time in Denmark Open's inaugural year finals as a Premier Super Series event.
His season highlights were followed by an exit from Hong Kong Open's semi-finals and inability to defend his China Open championship after losing his countryman, Lin Dan, in the final. He completed 2011 with another runner-up in Super Series Master Finals, beating Lin Dan again.
2012
In 2012, Chen lost Indonesia Open's pre-quarterfinals to Parupalli Kashyap, 21–17, 21–14.
In the 2012 Summer Olympics, Chen was defeated by Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the semi-final of the men's singles competition, 21–13, 21–14 but won bronze after defeating Lee Hyun-il in the bronze medal match
2013
Chen comfortably won the 2013 All England Open, 21–17, 21–18, against Lee Chong Wei. Despite missing the prior two 2009 and 2011 Sudirman Cup editions, Chen Long emerged as the first solo player to help China claim its fifth consecutive trophy in 2013 edition. He won the Denmark Open against Lee 24–22, 21-19, then the China Open over Wang Zhengming in three games.
2014
Chen started the year at the Korean Open, beating Lee Chong Wei. Then he couldn't defend his All England championship as he lost to Lee Chong Wei in the finals. He subsequently lost the same opponent in Indian Open finals. At the 2014 Thomas Cup, Chen played China's opening singles. They couldn't defend their title as they fell 0–3 to Japan in the semifinals.
Chen Long blamed the Chinese Team's surprising loss, challenging his capacity to oust Lin Dan as China's 'big brother' MS. Chen's bad start to the season extended long into the summer as he experienced early round knockouts in Hong Kong's Japan Open against Hu Yun and Denmark's Jan Ø. Jørgensen. His fate, however, reversed during the year's largest tournament. Chen defeated Lee Chong Wei in the finals on August 31 with a 21–19, 21–19 score to win his first ever World Championship title in 2014 Copenhagen, breaking his 7-month drought.
He would then continue this outstanding form for the rest of the season, defeating Son Wan-ho in the 2014 Denmark Super Series Premier finals, his 6th Super Series Premier title to date, and the year's first. He'd also make 2014 Hong Kong Super Series finals. After winning the 2014 BWF Super Series Masters Finals in Dubai, Chen Long finished the season with a 3-0 record in the Group Stage and defeated Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21–16, 21–10 in the final.
With this victory, Chen Long ascended to World No.1, defusing rival Lee Chong Wei and winning the BWF World Ranking title Year End No.1. This marked the first time in six years a player other than Lee Chong Wei concluded the year with the coveted No.1 rating. Despite a difficult start to the year, Chen's 2014 was characterised by his first ever World Championship, excellent victories in the Super Series Masters Finals and Denmark Open, and first World No.1 rank.
2015
Starting the year as World No.1, Chen Long's first season tournament was the 2015 All England Super Series Premier, arguably the best-known Super Series Premier championship. Defeating Lin Dan in straight sets (21-13, 21-12) on the way to the finals, Chen won his second All England championship in 2 years with a 15–21, 21–17, 21–15 over Jan O Jorgensen. In his second competition, the 2015 Malaysia Super Series Premier, Chen continued to overcome Lin Dan, this time with a tighter score of 20–22, 21–13, 21–11. Two consecutive victories over Lin Dan, long regarded China's strongest badminton player in the Men's Singles discipline, were seen by many as Chen's resolute ascent to China's MS No.1. A second round exit to Hu Yun at the 2015 Singapore Super Series and a semi-final loss to Tian Houwei via a walkover put an end to Chen Long's tournament-winning streak. However, victory over Viktor Axelsen in the final of the 2015 Australian Super Series with a 21–12, 14–21, 21-18 score placed Chen back in winning shape. A quarter-final exit followed at the 2015 Indonesia Super Series Premier, a competition where Chinese players often lose during the early stages. However, Chen would reclaim his form at the 2015 Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold with a victory over Chou Tien-chen. He'd defend his 2015 Jakarta World Championship title. Chen easily reached the tournament final, winning in 2 sets against each of his opponents, including Japanese rising star and then World No.4 Kento Momota 21–9, 21–15 in semi-finals. In a 2014 final rematch, Chen Long again won over competitor Lee Chong Wei, successfully defending his World Champion title with a 21–14, 21–17 easier score. This marked Chen Long's second World Championship triumph, which again guaranteed him at No. 1 Year End. Chen would follow up with another Super Series triumph in the 2015 Korea Open Super Series, when he defeated Ajay Jayaram 21–14, 21–13 in the final. This was Chen's 8th Super Series title, raising his total SS tally (including Premier) to 16 and 7 year-to-date titles, the most he's achieved in a season. Chen Long reached the finals in November 2015 without losing a single set, but a resurgent Lee Chong Wei proved tough to beat losing the finals in two straight sets 21–15, 21-11, stopping his 7 straight finals in 2015. In December 2015, Chen Long made Dubai's Super Series Finals semi-finals.
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