China are steeling for a ferocious fight against ever-improving Asian and European rivals as they gun for a clean sweep of the Olympic badminton gold medals.
China boast the world’s top shuttlers on the men’s and women’s sides, but their blanket dominance of the sport has slipped in the run-up to the Games, as Malaysia, Denmark, Indonesia and South Korea close the gap.
China head coach Li Yongbo, who drills his charges with military precision, concedes they face stiff competition in Beijing.
But he is confident of success and put a positive spin on having a chasing pack as China battle to increase their haul of three out of five golds in Athens and four in Sydney.
“It is clear, and we should be happy, that the level of badminton is rising all across the world, which is good for the development of the sport,” Li said at the recent Thomas and Uber Cups in Jakarta.
China eventually seized control of the courts in Indonesia — one of the last major tune-ups before the Games — thumping South Korea in the men’s final and Indonesia in the women’s.
But some of the individual performances of China’s most celebrated stars, who have won every trophy the sport has to offer, raised eyebrows.
World No. 1 and top Olympic seed Lin Dan, known as “Super Dan” to his fans, was trounced in one game by Malaysian champion Lee Chong Wei, handing the world No. 2 a major confidence boost ahead of Beijing.
Lin’s girlfriend and top seed on the women’s side, Xie Xingfang, was downed by Dutch star Yao Jie, seeded 18 for Beijing, compounding Xie’s problems after she was bundled out of this year’s prestigious All England Championships in the first round.
Despite the losses, China boasts the world’s top four women’s singles players — including Athens gold medalist Zhang Ning — rankings which entitle them, under qualifying rules, to three spots instead of two.
China’s men have three shuttlers in the top four, meaning world champion Lin will be joined by Bao Chunlai and All England title holder Chen Jin.
The trio are set for tough battles against a tenacious Lee, desperate for his first gold for Malaysia.
Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat will also challenge hard, although the Indonesian camp has cast doubt on his chances of holding onto the title.
Denmark’s Kenneth Jonassen and Peter Gade also threaten on the men’s side, along with South Korean underdogs Park Sung-hwan and Lee Hyun-il.
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
BRING THE NOISE: Brazil’s Fonseca attracted a boisterous crowd that brought such dominant soccer-style energy the referee switched to Portuguese to ask for quiet Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest. Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting. Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd. Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet. However, De
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s