Special report: 2008 Olympic Games
By Chen Jian
BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- On home courts of the Beijing Industrial University Gymnasium, Chinese badminton players are encountering tougher challenges in all five events, comparing with2004 in Athens, Greece, where they pocketed three out of five Olympic golds.
The challenges are posed not only by major opponents who have made substantial progress in their own respective events, but also by the reform of the 21 scoring system initiated by the International Badminton Federation in 2005.
The scoring system change was aimed at weakening the advantages of some badminton powerhouses like China, and encourage active participation in the sport from all over the world.
When asked if the Chinese national badminton team could make a clean sweep of all the five gold medals in Beijing, head coach Li Yongbo vowed to exert all their efforts and to mobilize all their potentials, while refraining from claiming all golds.
On home court, the head coach admitted players from the host country would enjoy some advantages which, however, could turn into huge pressures on them.
"It is a double-edged sword," Li said. "It depends on how players handle it and their own mental strength."
Suffering from weak mental strength, world top-ranked men's single player Lin Dan was surprisingly kicked out in the first round of the Athens Olympics.
The defeat, however, didn't derail the career path of Lin Dan, who clinched the world title in 2006 and 2007 back-to-back.
In the coming Olympic Games, the 24-year-old No. 1 kept a low key.
"I never feel that I could win the Olympic gold for sure, since there are several players who are strong enough to compete for the gold," he said.
Among these players, world No. 2 Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia poses biggest threat to Lin Dan.
In the semifinals of the 25th Thomas Cup recently held in Jakarta, Indonesia, Lee delivered a clean defeat to Lin, showing that how contentious the much-anticipated encounter on Olympic court could be.
As the largest medal hope of Malaysia in the Olympics, 26-year-old Lee also shoulders enormous pressure. "It's now or never. This special event is held once every four years, and the second opportunity may never come," Lee claimed.
Things are the same to their boos, Xie Xinfang, world No.1 in women's singles, and Wong Mew Choo, ranked No.9 on the women's singles' chart.
The love between the two "golden couples" could be crowned by an Olympic gold medal, only if their hopes are not dashed by Danish Tine Rasmussen, the greatest challenge to the reigning Chinese women shuttlers.
Rasmussen snatched three champions in Badminton World Federation's Super Series in 2008, and is now ranked No.4, overtaking defending Olympic champion Zhang Ning.
"I think the ladies' singles is very open," the 1.80-meter tall Dane said. "I have a lot of confidence and I will be there to fight for everything."
Danish men's doubles were once the hottest gold medal hopes in Athens, but now have surrendered their leading role to Indonesia's world No. 1 pair Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan and world No.2, South Korea's Lee Yong Dae and Jung Jae Sung, the favorites in Beijing due to their age advantage and Lee's extraordinary talent.
World champions Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng are also real competitors in this event, however, it is still the toughest hurdle for China to achieve the clean sweep in August.
On the contrary, the women's doubles gold is very much within the reach of the Chinese, who have occupied the top three seats on the ranking list for several years.
Defending champions Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen won't repeat the errors they made at the Uber Cup in Jakarta, where they lost to South Korean rivals Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Kyung Won in a tough game.
Their compatriots Wei Yili and Zhang Yawen, Du Jing and Yu Yang, will help them to secure the most-anticipated gold which has been won by the Chinese for three consecutive Olympics.
Two-time Olympic champion Gao Ling is struggling to win the third gold in Beijing, which will make her the first shuttler to clinch gold medals in three consecutive Olympic Games, and thus a historic figure.
But this time, Gao Ling faces much huger challenge in mixed doubles, not only for her young and immature partner Zheng Bo, and also for the rapidly fledging Indonesian pairs Liliyana Natsir and Nova Widianto, Vita Marissa and Flandy Limpele, who are ranked No.1 and No. 3 respectively.
The British pair Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson and the South Korean pair Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Yong Dae could never be ignored as well.
