Reigning China Open badminton champion Chen Hong has been
dropped from national Asian Games squad to make way for a younger
player.
The 27-year-old world No 7 has been in sizzling form this
season. Before clinching the title at the six-star China Open in
Guangzhou on Sunday by beating compatriot Bao Chunlai in straight
sets, he entered the semi-finals of the Madrid World Championships
last month where he bowed to his team-mate and world No 1 Lin Dan.
However, he was replaced by Chen Jin, eight years his junior.
Head coach Li Yongbo said he wanted to give younger players a
chance to play at the top level of international competition as
part of preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"Asian Games is a test for the team as we are aiming at the
Beijing Games in no more than two years away," said Li. "I want to
give more chances to young players and I hope they could draw as
much as experience for the Olympics this time in Doha."
World champion Lin as well as Chen Jin and Bao - ranked fourth
and fifth in the world - will play in the men's singles at the 15th
Asian Games, which open in Doha, Qatar on December 1.
Olympic women's doubles champions Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen will
also be rested for the Games but Li is still targeting a better
haul for his squad than the women's team and women's singles titles
they picked up in Busan in 2002.
"We can only send eight men and eight women and the players must
play both team and individual competitions," Li said. "It was a big
headache for us when we were choosing the squad."
Chen Hong, however, said the drop would not put his career to an
end. "As a veteran I can now relax to play and enjoy the game," he
said. "My passion for badminton hasn't weakened. I'm confident I
can continue my career. I won't give up easily."
Though known as a powerhouse in the world of badminton, China
had to face a sad memory in Asian Games history.
The 2002 Busan Games saw the team won only two gold medals -
women's team and women's singles, and its men's players all got
ousted before the semi-finals in both singles and doubles
events.
But team started to bounce from the bottom soon and reclaimed
its supremacy in the world since 2005.
The national team won the Sudirman Cup last year in Beijing
followed by a clear sweep at the Thomas and Uber Cup in Japan in
May. Adding to the glory, the Chinese shuttlers won four out of
five titles at the World Championships in Madrid of Spain last
month.
"We are in a great winning flow now," said Li. "I want the team
play great badminton at the Asian Games, at least, to win more gold
medals than at the last Asian Games."
(China Daily October 25, 2006)