Sports Club: Badminton Players

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Lin Dan

Lin Dan (Chinese: 林丹; pinyin: Lín Dān; born October 14, 1983 in Longyan, Fujian) is a professional badminton player from China. By the age of 27, Lin completed the "Super Grand Slam", having won all major titles in world badminton: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asia Championships, becoming the first and only player to achieve this feat. He was recognized as the greatest badminton player of all times. He has been nicknamed "Super Dan" by his fans.

2008 Korea Open - MS Final - Lin Dan vs Lee Hyun-il - 1/8

Lin Dan Simple Smile

Lin Dan Perfect Body

Lin had a good start to 2004, earning the BWF's number one world ranking for the first time in February. He helped China win the qualifying round of Thomas Cup and then captured the Swiss Open. He won his first ever All England Open title by beating Peter Gade in the final. He reached the semifinal of the Japan Open before going off to Jakarta, Indonesia in May for the Thomas Cup campaign.

Lin Dan On The Stage

Lin Dan and His Girl Friend

Lin Dan Kiss The Trophy

In Thomas Cup, Lin won every match he played except his semifinal clash with Lee Chong Wei, and helped China to a third successive title in the tournament. After easy victories over Nigeria and Canada in the group stage, China defeated Thailand in the quarterfinals. Despite Lin's loss to Lee Chong Wei in the semifinals, China still managed to qualify for the final over Malaysia 3–2 and retained the title after beating South Korea 3–1.

Simon Santoso

Simon Santoso (born in Tegal, Central Java, July 29, 1985) is a male badminton player from Indonesia.When he was young, he joined the Tangkas Jakarta badminton club before joining the Indonesian National team PBSI. In 2005 he won the Robot HCMC Vietnam Satellite and the silver medal at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. His best results on the world circuit until recently were runner-up finishes at the Singapore (2008), Swiss (2007), and Indonesia Super Series (2008) events . He was also a semi-finalist at the Japan Open Super Series (2007) and the Chinese Taipei Open (2007). In September 2008, Santoso won the Chinese Taipei Open after defeating Roslin Hashim from Malaysia in the final round by scores of 21–18, 13–21, 21–10. In October 2009, he won his first Super Series ever in Denmark Open Super Series, after beating Marc Zwiebler of Germany in the final round, 21-14, 21-6. He won gold in the 2009 Southeast Asian Games by defeating Sony Dwi Kuncoro.

Simon Santoso During Playing Badminton

Simon Santoso and Friend Get Awards

Simon Santoso Happiness Expression

Simon Santoso Simple Smile

Simon Santoso Best Performance

Simon Santoso Get Medals

Simon Santoso Costume and Badminton Tools

Lin Dan

Lin Dan (born October 14, 1983 in Longyan, Fujian) is a badminton player from China. By the age of 27, Lin completed the "Super Grand Slam", having won all major titles in world badminton: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asia Championships, becoming the first and only player to achieve this feat. He has been nicknamed "Super Dan" by his fans. In his early years, Lin was encouraged to learn piano by his parents, but chose to play badminton at the age of five. He joined the sports troop of the People's Liberation Army at the age of 13 and has been part of China's national badminton team since 2001 when he was 18. On April 10, 2008, he created controversy when he struck coach Ji Xinpeng in front of his teammates and reporters during the warm-up tournament ahead of Thomas Cup. The incident was reportedly triggered by Lin being unhappy with Ji's starting lineup for the tournament. Lin has been in a romantic relationship with Xie Xingfang, herself a former world champion badminton player, since 2003. They were quietly married on December 13, 2010 in Haizhu, Guangzhou. Xie initially denied but later admitted the news when reporters got the evidence. Lin reacted angrily towards the news and insisted that it was a personal matter between him and Xie.

Lin emerged as a winner in the 2000 Asian Junior Championships in both the team and boys' singles events. He was also a member of the winning Chinese team and a boys' singles semi-finalist in the 2000 World Junior Championships. 2001 marked the start of Lin's professional career. In his first final, at the Asian Badminton Championships, he was thrashed by compatriot Xia Xuanze. In 2002 Lin took his first title at the Korea Open. He was a member of China's 2002 Thomas Cup squad which defeated Sweden (5–0), Denmark (3–2), and Korea (4–1) to reach the semifinals. However, Lin didn't play in the semifinal tie against Malaysia, which saw China's team tumble to a 1–3 defeat. Lin participated in another four tournaments without coming close to victory. He was knocked out in the first round of the Singapore, and Indonesia Opens, second round of the Denmark Open, and third round of the China Open. In October Lin was defeated in the semifinals of the Asian Games team competition which directly blew China's hope of a gold medal. Lin started the 2003 season with a third round defeat in the All England Open. He reached a final later in the year at the Japan Open but was beaten by his compatriot Xia Xuanze once again. Lin then made his inaugural debut in the World Championships in Birmingham, England. He breezed past Per-Henrik Croona and Przemysław Wacha in the first two rounds, but was beaten by Xia again in his third round match. After the world meet, he was eliminated in the semifinals of the Singapore Open, third round of the Indonesia Open, and second round of the Malaysia Open. However, Lin ended the season strongly by capturing the Denmark, Hong Kong, and China Opens, and finishing runner-up at the German Open. Lin had a good start to 2004, earning the BWF's number one world ranking for the first time in February. He helped China win the qualifying round of Thomas Cup and then captured the Swiss Open. He won his first ever All England Open title by beating Peter Gade in the final. He reached the semifinal of the Japan Open before going off to Jakarta, Indonesia in May for the Thomas Cup campaign. Lin retained his number one world ranking during 2005, winning his second German and Hong Kong Open titles, as well as the Japan Open, China Masters, and World Cup tournaments. He also helped China recapture the Sudirman Cup when it shut-out both defending champion South Korea in the semifinals and Indonesia in the final.

Lin started the season by reaching the semifinals of the German Open, and had a same result in China Masters and China Open. He failed to win the Malaysia Open in June, which saw his opponent Lee Chong Wei had a superb display to save the title after a 13–20 down in rubber game, and also lost to Taufik Hidayat in Asian Games final. However, he won six individual titles in the season. He recapturing All England Open, won Chinese Taipei Open, Macau Open, Hong Kong Open, Japan Open, and his first world title after beating his compatriot Bao Chunlai in the final. Lin Dan entered 2007 with a loss to South Korea's Park Sung-hwan in the round of 16 at the Malaysia Open. A week later he captured the Korea Open by defeating Chinese teammate Chen Jin in the final. He went on to win the German Open and then the All England championships again, crushing compatriot Chen Yu 21–13, 21–12. In June, Lin Dan was part of Team China in the Sudirman Cup, held in Glasgow, Scotland. The Chinese team retained the cup after beating Indonesia 3–0 in the final. Later in the season Lin Dan defeated Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia and became the China Masters champion for 2007. In August, Lin Dan extended his reign as the world champion when he beat Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21–11, 22–20 in the final of the tournament held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Lin Dan thus became the first man since Yang Yang to win back to back world championships.Lin started the season with a defeat in the final of the Korea Open to Lee Hyun-il. It was a match filled with controversy as Lin had a scuffle with South Korea's coach Li Mao after a line call dispute. Lin refused to apologise and received no punishment from Badminton World Federation (BWF) after its probe of the altercation. In March he suffered another defeat to his compatriot Chen Jin in the final of the All England Open, which was followed by press accusations that Lin "gave" the match to Chen in order to increase Chen's ranking points for Olympic qualification. In the following week, Lin won his first Swiss Open. At the Asia Championships, Lin was again accused of helping his compatriot when his loss to Chen Jin in the semifinals ensured Chen's qualification for the Olympic Games. In March, Lin won his fourth All England title by defeating Lee Chong Wei, in only his first appearance since November 2008, but lost to the same opponent in the final of Swiss Open a week later. He then participated in the Sudirman Cup in which he helped China to a 5–0 victory against England and another clean swept against Japan and Indonesia. In the semifinals, it was another showdown between Lin and Lee Chong Wei in a tie against Malaysia, and Lin went on to win in straight games to set up a clash against Korea in the final. In the final, Lin had no trouble beating Park Sung-hwan, helping China to secure the Cup for the third time in a row without conceding a match to any opponent in the tournament. Lin started the season with failure to defend the All England Open title by losing in the quarterfinals, and had another quarterfinals exit in the Swiss Open. He only won his first seasonal title in the Badminton Asia Championships, which also marked his first title in the championships. Lin began the year with a withdrawal in the Malaysia Open's quarterfinals, which marked his third withdrawal in a row since late 2010. This action caused criticism mostly by Taufik Hidayat, who wanted the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to investigate. His mother denied that he retired on purpose, and cited he had a waist injury. However, he sprang back to win the first ever million dollar badminton tournament, Korea Open, a week later. He then won the German Open, beating his compatriot Chen Jin in the final. However, Lin's hope to become the first player to win five All England titles in the open era was dashed when he was defeated by Lee Chong Wei in the final. He then won his second Asian Championships in April on a day which saw China sweep all five titles. Lin helped China to a fourth consecutive Sudirman Cup title in May, defeating Denmark 3–0 in the final. In June, Lin withdrew from the Singapore Open final due to gastric flu, this drew the jeers from fans in the stadium.

Lee Chong Wei

Datuk Lee Chong Wei (born October 21, 1982 in Georgetown, Penang) is a professional badminton player from Malaysia who resides in Bukit Mertajam. Lee won the silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games, thus becoming the first Malaysian to reach the final of the men's singles event and ending Malaysia's Olympic medal drought since the 1996 Games. This achievement also earned him the title Datuk, and a description by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as a national hero. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide on August 21, 2008. He is the third Malaysian men's singles shuttler after Rashid Sidek and Roslin Hashim to achieve such a ranking (since official rankings were first kept in the 1980s), and is the only Malaysian shuttler to hold the ranking for more than two weeks. Despite his number 1 status since 2008, Lee is still searching for his first Olympic Games, World Championship and Asian Games titles. Lee picked up only one title in 2002 and 2003, the major achievement being, reaching the final of the 2003 Malaysia Open, his first final of a major tournament, where was defeated by Chen Hong of China. Lee then secured two titles in 2004, the Malaysia Open and Chinese Taipei Open. Lee gained a spot for 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. In his first Olympics appearance, Lee defeated Ng Wei of Hong Kong in the first round. His journey ended in the second round when he was beaten by Chen Hong. Lee then bagged another two titles in 2005, his second Malaysia Open title and Denmark Open. Lee bagged bronze in his first appearance in the world meet, the 2005 World Championships after losing to eventual winner Taufik Hidayat in the semifinal.

Lee kicked off year 2008 in success, capturing his fourth Malaysia Open title in five years. However, Lee only captured his second title of the year in Singapore Open, also the final tournament in his pre-Olympic preparations, just after five tournaments he took part, in Korea Open; All England Open; Swiss Open; Badminton Asia Championships; and Thomas Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia where Lee helped Malaysia advanced through to the semifinal where he defeated Lin Dan to give Malaysia a 1–0 lead in its clash with defending champion China. However, Malaysia eventually lost 2–3 due to the defeat of its first doubles team in the vital final match. In the 2008 Olympic Games, Lee was given a bye in the first round. He cruised to straight game victories over Ronald Susilo in the second round, Kęstutis Navickas in the third round, and Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the quarterfinals. He had a scare in the semifinals where Lee Hyun-il gave him a tough fight, but eventually Chong Wei was able to beat the South Korean and reach the final. However, it was a one-sided final, as Lee was completely outplayed by Lin Dan and salvaged only 20 points, losing 12–21, 8–21. He came second place overall. Lee started 2009 season with his fifth Malaysia Open title. He failed to secure his first Korea Open and All England Open title despite marching into the final. However, he secured his second title of the year in the Swiss Open which was held in Basel, defeating Lin Dan in straight sets and marking his first win in the finals against the Chinese opponent outside home turf. Next, Lee surprisingly was defeated by Chen Long of China in the India Open. He cited that the loss was due to food poisoning and insisted the authorities to improve the conditions before the World Championships. In May, Lee helped Malaysia reached the semi-finals of the Sudirman Cup, the first in national history, despite his unbeaten record in the tournament being blown by Lin Dan. He bagged another two titles in June, the Indonesia Open, and the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold, despite failing to defend his Singapore Open title when he was surprised by Nguyen Tien Minh in the second round. Lee kicks off second half of the season with defeat to Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the world meets, but recovery to won the Macau Open in August. He reached semi-final in the China Masters, but once again failed to beat his all time rivalry Lin Dan. Then, Lee participated in the Japan Open, he only manage into second round of the Open, before won the Hong Kong Open in November. His inconsistency saw him tumbles down in the first round of the China Open. In December, Lee defended his Super Series Masters Finals title, which saw the competition played without the top badminton players in the world.

Lee started the year with the title in all events he took part, his first treble in the Super Series titles. His first ever Korea Open crown, sixth Malaysia Open, and defeated Kenichi Tago to win the oldest and prestigious badminton championship in the world, the All England Open, his first one since he took part in 2004. Lee participated in the Thomas Cup in his home ground. He managed to defeat Kenichi Tago and take the first point, despite Malaysia's eventual loss (2–3) to Japan. In the quarter finals, he beat Peter Gade, thus helping to secure Malaysia's place in the semi-finals. In the semi finals against China, Lee was defeated by Lin Dan, which ended his 18-match unbeaten record since the start of the year. In January, Lee won his seventh Malaysia Open title by defeating Taufik Hidayat from Indonesia in the final However, he failed to defend the Korea Open title, the world's first ever million-dollar badminton tournament, after being beaten by Lin Dan from China in three games. In March, Lee cruised into the final of the All England Open for the third consecutive time and retained his title successfully with a convincing straight games victory over Lin Dan, and was praised by prime minister Najib Tun Razak. On Labour Day, he won his first ever India Open, and also his third consecutive Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold title a week later. Despite the fact that Lee won all his matches he played during the Sudirman Cup, Malaysia's journey ended in quarterfinals, after being beaten by South Korea 2–3.

Peter Gade

Peter Høeg Gade (born December 14, 1976 in Aalborg, Denmark), born Peter Gade Christensen, is a Danish professional badminton player. He currently resides near Charlottenlund in Copenhagen with his wife, accomplished handball player Camilla Høeg. Together they have a daughter, Nanna, born in 2004. Gade has made his mark in badminton history through his All England Open Badminton Championships singles title in 1999 and his four European Championships crowns in the men's single event. The Dane topped the world rankings from 1998 to 2001. With his 16 Grand-Prix titles, he has become one of the most successful players of all time. Into his 30s, Gade remains very active on the international circuit. On June 22, 2006, he briefly recaptured the number one spot in the world rankings. This was achieved after winning the Singapore Open and reaching the quarter-final at the Malaysia Open. His playing style is known for fast attacks, smooth footwork and constant pressure. His deception is particularly creative for a world badminton player, and he uses a widely recognised and highly successful "trademark shot" (the so-called "double action" of the racket sends the shuttle to the back of the court, while aiming to bring the player towards the net). With a plethora of deceptive shots, he has been known to win points from more outrageous attempts, such as the reverse forehand (using the opposite side of the racket head to the one anticipated, to make contact with the shuttlecock at a radically different angle). At the club level he plays for Team Skælskør Slagelse.

“I needed their support in the end,” said Gade, 34, who is immensely popular with Chinese media and badminton fans because of his talent, typical Scandinavian looks and cheerful off-court demeanour. A near-capacity crowd in the arena in Qingdao roared Gade to victory on Wednesday as he stormed back from a game down to emerge 15-21, 21-18, 22-20 over the determined Lee in a topsy-turvy affair that lasted 73 minutes. The veteran Gade clenched his fists and applauded all four sides of the stadium after his exhausting triumph. “I was under a lot of pressure and this was a difficult match for me,” he said, as Chinese media mobbed him for comment. “I was prepared for Lee but he made it very difficult in the beginning. “I almost lost it but I kept believing and I got the support in the end, and that was what mattered.” Asked why he thought he was so hugely popular in China, he pointed to the media scrum and said: “You’ll have to ask them, not me. I don’t know. This was a great game for the spectators. This might be part of the reason.

Peter Gade Good Smash

Peter Gade Happiness Expression

Peter Gade Will Hit The Ball

Peter Gade Won The Champion

Peter Gade Poster

Jwala Gutta

Jwala Gutta is a left-handed Indian badminton player of mixed Chinese and Indian descent who has won the National Badminton Championships thirteen times until 2010. She is one of the best women's doubles badminton players produced by India in recent times, partnering with Shruti Kurien. She was the wife of Chetan Anand, an Arjuna Awardee; however, the two divorced in 2010. Gutta was born in Wardha, Maharashtra and brought up in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, to an Indian father (Telugu speaking) and a Chinese mother. Her mother's grandfather, Tseng from Tianjin, was a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and stayed with him at Sevagram ashram, where he translated Gandhi's autobiography and other works into Chinese.During her Badminton career, Jwala Gutta began dating fellow badminton player Chetan Anand, who was the 1999 Junior National Badminton Champion and 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2010 Senior National Badminton Champion and has been honored with an Arjuna Award. The couple married on 17 July 2005.

In the doubles event though, her performance has been better as entered the Semi Final round of her second International Doubles tournament, the India Asia Satellite tournament 2002. She also reached the Semi Final round of the Indian Asian Satellite tournament 2004, and finished Runner Up at the LE VOLANT D’OR Tournament, known as TOULOUSE Open in the year 2004. Further, she reached the Final Rounds of the Scottish International tournament 2004 and 40th Portuguese Badminton Championship 2004. In the year 2006 she won the Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament while in the year 2007 she won the Cyprus Badminton International tournament. The same year, she also won at the Pakistan International Challenge tournament and the Indian International Challenge tournament. Apart from these achievements, Jwala won the Nepal International Series tournament 2008 and Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix 2008 in the Women’s Doubles category. She won a Gold medal in Women Doubles in Commonwealth Games 2010.In the Mixed Doubles category too, Jwala has shown her excellence as she has grabbed the titles in the Jakarta Satellite tournament and Welsh International tournament in the year 2005, Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament, Cyprus Badminton International tournament and Indian International Challenge tournament in the year 2007, and Nepal International Series tournament, Bitburger Open Grand Prix tournament and KLRC Bulgaria Open Grand Prix tournament in the year 2008. But the latest achievement in December 2009 where she and her mixed doubles partner Diju reached the World Super Series masters final in Malaysia, where they went down to world championship bronze medalists Christinna Pedersen and Joaquim Nielsen 21-14, 21-18.