Zhang Ning fired

The recent Uber Cup disastrous outing for China will leave one woman down. According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, Zhang Ning, head coach for the women’s singles team, has been fired from the coaching staff after her players failed to deliver in Bangkok last month. The two-time Olympic gold medallist was obviously very successful in her playing days with titles both as an individual player and in many team events together with the likes of Wang Yihan, Xie Xingfang, Wang Xin, Gao Ling and so many other famous names.

But after the departure of Li Yongbo, she took charge of a weaker generation of women’s singles, who had to face injuries and, most of all, a new and fierce competition from other nations. The latest of the results was the loss of the Uber Cup, a disastrous showing for a team so accustomed to winning, even if it did happen for only the second time in 20 years.

Who  will take over?

If Xia Xuanze, who is from the same generation of Zhang Ning – saved his spot as head coach of the men’s singles team after China’s brilliant win in the Thomas Cup, Zhang Ning didn’t have the same luck and will be replaced by 43-year-old Luo Yigang (pictured here, with a French fan, after winning the 2002 French Open), a former singles player who played earlier this millennium on China’s national team, but who had recently been head coach for Hunan Province. 

Born on December 18, 1976, 1.80 metres of height, Luo was born in Hunan and reached, at one point in 1998, the world’s #3 spot.  After starting badminton at 9, he entered the Hunan team when he was 13.  Luo made China’s B team at the beginning of 1996, and the A team a few months later. 1998 was his year as he won the Swedish Open and was a semi-finalist at the All England.  In 1999, he won the 1999 Malaysia Open and took a semi-final spot in Korea that same year. His last match was played in Paris, where he won the 2002 French Open, then an International Challenge tournament. His best achievement in a team event was a silver medal in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

Photos: Badmintonphoto