On April 12, 2023, the biennial Sudirman Cup kicked off in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. It is also the first point race of badminton in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Since then, Chinese badminton players have embarked on the journey to Paris. Frankly speaking, neither the players nor the fans knew how the war situation would evolve in the next year, and how many people would arrive in Paris.

To participate in the Olympic Games is the dream of every athlete. In preparing for the war, they should defeat their opponents, and more importantly, they should defeat themselves.

In April 2024, in the Ningbo Asian Badminton Championships, the men's doubles team Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi locked the eighth place in the Olympic points, making the Chinese team the only badminton team to participate in the Paris Olympic Games in full.

Since 1992, when badminton became an official event of the Olympic Games, only the Chinese team has been qualified for full participation in the 32 years. Among them, at the 2012 London Olympic Games, the Chinese team won five gold medals at one fell swoop, creating a miracle in the Olympic badminton arena.

According to the latest Olympic points ranking released by the World Badminton Federation, the top two players (pairs) of the Chinese team in the five individual events are as follows: Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng in men's singles; The women's singles are Chen Yufei and He Bingjiao; The men's doubles are Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang, Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi; The women's doubles are Chen Morning/Jia Yifan, Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning; Mixed doubles are Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong, Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping.

Shortly after the list was confirmed, the Chinese badminton team won the 11th Thomas Cup and 16th Uber Cup in the history of the team in the 2024 Thomas Cup and Uber Cup in Chengdu, and handed over a satisfactory answer in the final exam before the Paris Olympic Games. Zhang Jun, President of the China Badminton Association, said that winning the Tang You Cup again would play a positive role in Guoyu's momentum and morale, and the whole team would be more confident to achieve another success in Paris. Zhang Jun's low-key confidence in the goal of his trip to Paris: "The situation in the international badminton arena is complex, and each project has strong competitors, but the goal of the Chinese badminton team is still to strive for five gold medals."

Can the Chinese badminton team win five gold medals again?

On the one hand, Shi Yuqi, currently ranked second in the world, will finally come out of a four-year low by the end of 2023. In only half a year, he has successively defeated Ansailong, the champion of the Tokyo Olympic Games, and won the world open championship for many times. In the just concluded Thomas Cup, he played the first singles game of the Chinese team, winning six games in a row, without a defeat. According to statistics, Shi Yuqi played 28 matches this year, with a winning rate of 89.3%, making him the best men's singles player in the world badminton this year.

Li Shifeng, another men's singles player with high hopes, will shine at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. As the Olympic Games approaches, his state will fluctuate. It will be the key for Li Shifeng to make a difference in Paris to regain the level he achieved when he won the double crown at the Asian Games last year as soon as possible.

In the Chengdu Uber Cup, Chen Yufei, the No. 1 singles player of the Chinese women's team, won all four matches and did not lose a game. It is gratifying, but she did not directly compete with An Xiying (South Korea), Yamaguchi (Japan) and Dai Ziying (Chinese Taipei). Moreover, there was no Spanish star Ma Lin in the Uber Cup. Chen Yufei wants to defend his title in Paris, and the real opponents are just these four.

Chen Yufei's main opponent is also the opponent of teammate He Bingjiao. He Bingjiao plays a connecting role in the team, especially in the Chengdu Uber Cup final. In the face of players who have never played before, He Bingjiao reverses tenaciously after losing a game first, and her psychological quality has been greatly improved.

In men's doubles, Chinese team combination Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang and Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi ranked first and eighth in the world respectively. The first pair participated in the Olympic Games for the first time, and Liu Yuchen of the latter pair had the regret of winning silver in the Tokyo Olympic Games three years ago. The men's doubles competition is the fiercest. The level gap between the top ten in the world is only one millionth of a millimeter. It depends on who plays better in the tournament. "I believe that these two pairs of them will show more stable performance in the Olympic Games." Zhang Jun expressed confidence in them.

In women's doubles, the popular "Fan Chen" team (Chen Morning/Jia Yifan) has been the world's number one team for a long time. Their experienced style and "big heart" are the key to winning the competition, and winning another Olympic gold medal is their only goal. Chen early morning once said frankly: "When you go to Paris, you are sure to win."

Another group of women's doubles team Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning also performed well in Asian Championships, Uber Cup and other competitions. If they can compete with "Fan Chen" in the Olympic finals, it will be the best result.

In mixed doubles, Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong and Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping of the Chinese team rank top two in the world. Their tacit cooperation and tactical changes will make this project an important breakthrough point for the Chinese team.

There is no denying that the Chinese badminton team has the world's top players in the five individual events. However, in addition to the absolute advantages of women's doubles and mixed doubles, the competitors of the other three events will bring greater challenges.

(Reporter Wang Dong)

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