OLYMPICS/ Team china
Eyes on Zhu Lin
By Yu Yilei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-24 10:34
China's up-and-coming shuttler, Zhu Lin, believes a Chinese saying: "The sweetest moment comes from the hardest efforts."
After years of efforts, Zhu, who is part of China's new badminton generation, had the sweetest moment of her life last week after she won the coveted women's singles title at the Kuala Lumpur World Championships.
There is little surprise knowing another Chinese female player has risen to the top of the tournament - they managed to do it four times in a row since the 2001 Seville Worlds. However it was a surprise that the winner was neither Zhang Ning nor Xie Xingfang, the world's top two players who dominated the event in recent years.
Zhang and Xie swept almost all the international titles since the 2003 Birmingham Worlds. Zhang was the 2003 winner and Xie emerged as 2005 and 2006 winners when she defeated Zhang in two title games.
Whenever they stepped on the court, other players usually only expect silver or bronze.
The rest of the world is under their shadow, including Zhu, who established herself by helping China to win the women's team title at the World Junior Championships at age 16.
When she made it to the star-studded national team in 2004, all she could do was work hard and wait for an opportunity.
The Kuala Lumpur event opened the door for her - two-time defending champion Xie tumbled in the quarterfinals to Malaysian Wong Choo Mew and Zhang Ning fell to Hong Kong's Wang Chen in the semis.
Zhu, playing her first worlds, did not waste the golden chance, scoring an inspiring final victory against Asian champion Wang who defeated her in their previous four meetings.
"This is just a beginning," claimed the jubilant Zhu after winning the final game. Zhu's victory also made her a hot prospect for the Beijing Games."
Zhu is the biggest discovery for China in the tournament," China's head coach Li Yongbo said. "Her victory will push the veterans to work harder and give young players more confidence."
But Li said the young players like Zhu still could not replace Zhang and Xie, leaving a tough mission for Zhu to qualify for the Beijing Games.
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