HONG KONG- With its players leading the world rankings, momentum from a string of tournament wins and home court advantage, China's badminton team is primed for another gold medal haul at the Beijing Olympics.
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China's Xie Xingfang celebrates after beating South Korea's Hwang Hye Youn during the semi-final of the Uber Cup badminton championship in Jakarta May 15, 2008. [Agencies]
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China won three of the five titles in Athens and has dominated the sport since 2004, winning the Sudirman Cup, Thomas Cup and Uber Cup in the last year.
But some top players have suffered defeats in recent months and the mixed doubles remains a weak point.
"I agree that badminton in China has declined a bit but I am also pleased that internationally the standard of badminton has risen," state media quoted coach Li Yongbo as saying.
"That helps to push us to improve further."
In the men's singles, the pressure will be heavy on world number one Lin Dan, who was eliminated in the first round in Athens and has had his share of ups and downs this year.
Lin's biggest threat will probably come from world number two Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia who crushed Lin in the Thomas Cup semi-finals 21-12 21-14. China still advanced to beat South Korea after Lin defeated Park Sung-hwan in three games.
At the China Open, the men's doubles and mixed doubles were captured by Indonesia.
Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia will again be in the medal mix this year, Lin believes. Denmark's Peter Gade and South Korean team mates Park and Lee Hyun-ll also pose a threat in the men's singles.
Last month, South Korea's hopes suffered a blow when Kim Jung-soo, head coach of the national team, was suspended after a police investigation into allegations of misappropriation of public funds.
China also has depth in the women's game. The top three in the world rankings are Chinese -- Xie Xingfang, Lu Lan and Zhu Lin -- and the home team will be very hard to beat in the singles, traditionally China's strongest event.
But like the men, China's top women have faltered recently. Xie was beaten at the Uber Cup by Yao Jie of the Netherlands and was knocked out of the All England championships in the early rounds, as was Olympic champion Zhang Ning.
Denmark's Tine Rasmussen has won three major titles and could become the first non-Asian woman to win an Olympic gold since the world's fastest racquet sport was introduced at the Barcelona Games in 1992.
Malaysian Wong Mew Choo will also be one to watch, having beaten Xie in the China Open, and also defeated world champion Zhu Lin and Zhang Ning.
