Zhang Jun (simplified Chinese: 张军; traditional Chinese: 張軍; pinyin: Zhāng Jūn; born November 26, 1977, in Suzhou, Jiangsu) is a former male badminton player from the People's Republic of China. He is now a coach with the Chinese national team following his retirement as an international player.

Zhang Jun
张军
Personal information
CountryChina
Born (1977-11-26) November 26, 1977 (age 46)
Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb; 11.8 st)
HandednessLeft
Mixed doubles
Highest ranking1 (with Gao Ling) (June 7, 2001[1])
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  China
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Mixed doubles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Seville Mixed doubles
Silver medal – second place 2003 Birmingham Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Copenhagen Men's doubles
Sudirman Cup
Gold medal – first place 1999 Copenhagen Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2001 Seville Mixed team
Thomas Cup
Silver medal – second place 2000 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Hong Kong Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Guangzhou Men's team
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 1998 Bangkok Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Bangkok Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Busan Men's team
Asia Championships
Gold medal – first place 1997 Kuala Lumpur Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2002 Bangkok Mixed doubles
Silver medal – second place 1998 Bangkok Men's doubles
Silver medal – second place 1999 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles
Asia Cup
Gold medal – first place 2001 Singapore Men's team
BWF profile

Career

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As a doubles specialist, the solidly built Zhang Jun won several international men's doubles titles with compatriot Zhang Wei including the Swiss (1998), China (2001), and Thailand (2005) Opens. However, the majority of his titles, and the most prestigious ones, came in mixed doubles when he teamed up with the formidable Gao Ling. These included consecutive gold medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, earned by surviving a number of very close matches, particularly in 2000 when they were on the verge of elimination in the semifinals. In a similar fashion, Zhang and Gao captured the 2001 IBF World Championships by squeezing past the brilliant South Korean duo Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min 17-16 in the third game. Zhang's other titles with Gao include three victories (2001, 2003, and 2006) at the prestigious All-England Championships; the Badminton Asia Championships in 2002; the China Masters in 2005; and the China (2002, 2003), Japan (2003), Indonesia (2004), Malaysia (2004, 2006), Thailand (2005), Singapore (2005), and German (2006) Opens.

Zhang had the honor of being an Olympic torch carrier at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Games.[2]

After retirement, Zhang Jun coached the Chinese national badminton team. He was promoted to head coach of the national badminton doubles team in 2017, before being selected as vice chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) in 2018.[3]

On January 28, 2019, Zhang Jun was elected as the chairman of Chinese Badminton Association.[4][5]

Zhang Jun, as president of the Chinese Badminton Association, competed with Khunying Patama, his counterpart from the Badminton Association of Thailand and Anton Aditya Subowo, president of Badminton Asia, for the position of BWF deputy president[6] but lost; Patama was elected deputy president in May 2019, during the Sudirman Cup tournament in Nanning, China.[7]

Personal life

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Zhang Jun married synchronised swimmer Hu Ni in 2006. Their son was born in 2009.[8] (Zhang Jun's former doubles partner Cai Yun, whom he later also coached, married Hu Ni's teammate Wang Na in 2010.)

Achievements

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Olympic Games

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Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2000 The Dome,
Sydney, Australia
  Gao Ling   Trikus Haryanto
  Minarti Timur
1–15, 15–13, 15–11   Gold
2004 Goudi Olympic Hall,
Athens, Greece
  Gao Ling   Nathan Robertson
  Gail Emms
15–1, 12–15, 15–12   Gold

World Championships

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1999 Brøndby Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark   Zhang Wei   Ha Tae-kwon
  Kim Dong-moon
6–15, 15–17   Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2003 National Indoor Arena,
Birmingham, England
  Gao Ling   Kim Dong-moon
  Ra Kyung-min
7–15, 8–15   Silver
2001 Palacio de Deportes de San Pablo,
Seville, Spain
  Gao Ling   Kim Dong-moon
  Ra Kyung-min
15–10, 12–15, 17–16   Gold

Asian Championships

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1998 Bangkok, Thailand   Zhang Wei   Ha Tae-kwon
  Kang Kyung-jin
15–12, 11–15, 13–15   Silver
1999 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia   Zhang Wei   Ha Tae-kwon
  Kim Dong-moon
6–15, 4–15   Silver

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1997 Bangkok, Thailand   Liu Lu   Yang Ming
  Qian Hong
15–12, 17–16   Gold
2002 Bangkok, Thailand   Gao Ling   Khunakorn Sudhisodhi
  Saralee Thungthongkam
11–7, 11–8   Gold

IBF World Grand Prix

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The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) since 1983.

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1998 Swiss Open   Zhang Wei   Liu Yong
  Yu Jinhao
17–15, 15–7   Winner
2000 Thailand Open   Zhang Wei   Sigit Budiarto
  Halim Haryanto
15–5, 15–10   Winner
2001 China Open   Zhang Wei   Chen Qiqiu
  Liu Yong
7–1, 4–7, 8–6 4–7, 7–5   Winner

References

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  1. ^ IBF Historical Ranking – Mixed Doubles Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Spectacular ceremony opens Beijing Olympics". China Internet Information Center. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Zhang Jun new chairman of Chinese Badminton". Badminton Famly. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. ^ "张军当选新一届羽协主席 李永波不再任副主席" [Zhang Jun elected as new chairman of Badminton Association and Li Yongbo ceases to be vice chairman]. Sina Sports (in Chinese). 28 January 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Former Olympic champion takes over badminton". China Daily. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Former Olympic champ Zhang Jun confirmes run for BWF deputy president". China Daily. Beijing. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020 – via Xinhua News Agency.
  7. ^ "NEW BWF DEPUTY PRESIDENT AND BWF COUNCIL MEMBER ELECTED" (Press release). Badminton World Federation. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  8. ^ Zhao Yanyan (赵彦砚) (2010-01-06). "儿子降生时在巴黎酒店睡觉 张军跟队友求育儿经" [When His Son Was Born He Was Sleeping in a Paris Hotel: Zhang Jun Asks Teammates for Parenting Tips]. Jinling Evening News (in Chinese).
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