Zhang Jiewen

Zhang Jiewen (simplified Chinese: 张洁雯; traditional Chinese: 張潔雯; pinyin: Zhāng Jiéwén; Cantonese Yale: Cheung1 Git3 Man4; born January 4, 1981 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China) is a female badminton player from the People's Republic of China.

Career

One of China's most successful women's doubles specialists, Zhang has won some thirty international titles, the vast majority of them in partnership with Yang Wei, during the first decade of the 21st century. They have shared world dominance almost equally with their compatriot adversaries Gao Ling and Huang Sui. One or the other pair has captured all of the BWF World Championships held since 2000, with Zhang and Yang winning in both 2005 and 2007 by defeating Gao and Huang in the finals. Zhang and Yang also emerged victorious at the 2004 Olympics in Athens by besting their rivals in a closely contested gold medal match .^[1] Conversely, Gao and Huang have had the upper hand in three finals (2003), 2004, 2006) at the venerable All-England Championships. This tourney has been something of an anomaly for Zhang as she has reached the women's doubles final there six times (four with Yang and twice, earlier, with Wei Yili) without winning.

In 2008 Zhang helped China to secure its sixth consecutive Uber Cup (women's world team championship), and won the Swiss, Thailand, and Malaysia Open women's doubles titles with Yang. At the Beijing Olympics where they were top seeded, however, Zhang and Yang were upset in the quarterfinals by Japan's Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna. The event was eventually won by another, younger Chinese pair, Du Jing and Yu Yang, perhaps marking a changing of the guard in the Chinese dynasty.

According to some reports, Zhang Jiewen will quit competitive badminton after the 2008 Summer Olympics, when she will marry Malaysian men's badminton doubles star Choong Tan Fook. She is currently coaching with him in a badminton facility in Guangzhou.^[2]

References