By Sportswriter Gong Bing
QINGDAO, East China, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The 2004 Athens Olympic gold medalist Zhang Jiewen stumbled in the women's doubles quarterfinals of badminton tournament at the 11th Chinese National Games here on Friday, her last stop on the court.
Life will go on. She has turned her attention to a new life out of the court and is yearning for a wedding next year.
The 28-year-old Zhang paired up with her Olympic partner Yang Wei at the National Games. The Guangdong duo conceded to Zhao Tingting and Feng Chen from People's Liberation Army. During the 55-minute match, Zhang and Yang lost the first game 22-20 but managed to pull one point back in the second at 21-16. In the decider, the two sides levelled at 6-6, 8-8, 18-18 and 19-19 before Zhao and Feng secured a 21-19 win.
"I was not in good form and could not concentrate on the match," Zhang said in tears after the match.
Zhang was under great pressure since she lost in a decisive match in the team event final. "I dearly wanted to win a gold medal for Guangdong in the team event but we lost at last."
In the team final earlier on Tuesday, Jiangsu beat Guangdong 3-1. Before Zhang's match, Guangdong trailed 2-1. Zhang played the fourth match with Yao Guojun but lost to Sun Xiaoli and Cheng Shu from Jiangsu 21-17, 16-21, 16-21. Thus Guangdong failed to go a step further, settling for a silver medal in three consecutive National Games.
"I have been dreaming of winning a team gold medal for Guangdong and that's why I came back to play the National Games," said Zhang. "The loss dealt a great blow to me. I was under pressure and could not prepare well for the women's doubles competitions."
Her partner Yang echoed her comment. "It was obvious that she was not in her best shape even in yesterday's match."
"I had hoped to do something for Guangdong but I failed. This is a big regret," added Zhang.
After the National Games, Zhang will start her work with the Guangzhou Badminton Association and prepare for her wedding with Choong Tan Fook, men's doubles veteran of Malaysia, who settled for a fourth place in 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Zhang and Choong got to know each other in 2004 Malaysia Open and fell in love later.
"All kinds of regrets in my career means nothing after I got to know Zhang," said Choong after the Beijing Olympics.
"I've never expected a grand wedding ceremony," said Zhang." A simple wedding ceremony, a dinner with relatives and friends as well as a honeymoon trip are enough."
Zhang has not decided where to hold her wedding.
"I don't know where to hold the wedding. Maybe in Malaysia, maybe in Guangzhou and maybe both. For the wedding time, I think it'll be next year." said Zhang.
Zhang was remembered in 1998 when she won world junior women's doubles champion then with Xie Xingfang. After the 2002 Busan Asian Games, she began to pair up with Yang Wei and topped the world ranking at various times.
In 2004, the duo reached their professional climax by crowning in the Athens Olympics and became household names. In 2005, they proved their worth again by clinching the title in the world championships. Two years later, they regained the title.
In 2008 Beijing Olympics, the duo were tipped as favorites to defend the title but stumbled in the quarterfinals. After the Games, they chose to retire from the national team and then played for Guangdong in the National Games.
