, China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

) is a female badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

 player from the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. Yang grew up in Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

.

Career

A woman's doubles specialist, Yang has won some forty international titles, most of them in the sport's top tier events, since 1998. Prior to 2003 she partnered Huang Nanyan

Huang Nanyan

Huang Nanyan is a female badminton player from the People's Republic of China.-Career:A women's doubles specialist, Huang won a number of top tier titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first of these came at the 1997 Asian Badminton Championships with Liu Zhong...

 with whom she earned a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics

Badminton at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Badminton was held at The Dome and Exhibition Complex at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney from September 17–23, 2000. The competition included five events ....

 and gained the winning point against South Korea

Korea national badminton team

The Korea national badminton team represents South Korea in international badminton team competitions.-Participation in BWF competitions:Thomas Cup *1984 - Fourth place*1992 - Semi-finalist*1996 - Semi-finalist*2000 - Semi-finalist*2004 - Semi-finalist...

 in the 2002 Uber Cup (women's world team championship) final. Her subsequent partnership with Zhang Jiewen

Zhang Jiewen

Zhang Jiewen is a female badminton player from the People's Republic of China.-Career:One of China's most successful women's doubles specialists, Zhang has won some thirty international titles, the vast majority of them in partnership with Yang Wei, during the first decade of the 21st century...

 has been even more successful as they have shared international domination with compatriot rivals Gao Ling

Gao Ling

Gao Ling is a female badminton player from the People's Republic of China.-Career:Noted for her consistency, anticipation, forecourt prowess, and sporting smile, Gao is unarguably, to many fans, the most successful doubles specialists in the history of women's badminton. In addition, she earned...

 and Huang Sui

Huang Sui

-Career:Although Huang has won the Chinese National mixed doubles title almost all of her many international titles have come in women's doubles with Gao Ling, in a partnership where Huang's strength and consistency in the backcourt have complemented Gao's ability in the forecourt...

. Yang and Zhang captured gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics

Badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Goudi Olympic Hall at the Goudi Olympic Complex from August 14 through August 21. Both men and women competed in their own singles and doubles events and together they competed in a mixed doubles event....

 by defeating Gao and Huang in the final. They bested the same team in winning both the 2005

2005 IBF World Championships

The 2005 IBF World Championships was held in Anaheim, southern California, United States, from August 15 to August 21, 2005.2004 Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia won the men's singles over China's Lin Dan, while Peter Gade of Denmark and Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei received bronze...

 and 2007 BWF World Championships. On the other hand, Gao and Huang have been an obstacle for them at the prestigious All-England Championships

All England Open Badminton Championships

The All England Open Badminton Championships, or simply All England, is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious badminton tournaments. Played annually, it developed after the success of world's first badminton tournament held in Guildford in 1898...

, defeating Yang and Zhang in the 2003

2003 All England Open Badminton Championships

The 2003 All England Open was the 93rd edition of the All England Open Badminton Championships. It was held from February 11 to February 16, 2003, in Birmingham, England.It was a four star tournament and the prize money was USD$125,000.-Final results:...

, 2004

2004 All England Open Badminton Championships

The 2004 All England Open was the 94th edition of the All England Open Badminton Championships. It was held in Birmingham, England, from March 9 to March 14, 2004, and the prize money was USD$125,000 or £69,471.-Final results:-External links:*...

, and 2006

2006 All England Open Badminton Championships

The 2006 All England Open was held in Birmingham, England, from January 17 to January 22, 2006.-Final results:- References :* http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=30E8BC12-E247-44E1-A56B-A81D84BB7A59...

 finals. Curiously, this is the one major tournament that neither Yang nor Zhang has ever won.

In 2008 Yang helped China

China national badminton team

The China national badminton team represents the People's Republic of China in international badminton team competitions and is controlled by the Badminton Association of the People's Republic of China, the governing body for badminton in China....

 to secure its sixth consecutive Uber Cup

Uber Cup

The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Team Championships for Women, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956-1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contested every two years since 1984 when its scheduled...

 title and won women's doubles at the Swiss

Swiss Open (badminton)

The Swiss Open is an annual badminton tournament held in Switzerland since 1955 and become one of the BWF Super Series tournament began 2007. 2011 the tournament was dropped down to a Grand Prix Gold event.-Previous winners:-Performances by nation:...

, Thailand

Thailand Open (badminton)

The Thailand Open in badminton is an open international championships held in Thailand since 1984. It was halted in 1986, 1998, 2002 and 2010.-Past winners:-External links:***...

, and Malaysia Opens

Malaysia Open (badminton)

The Malaysia Open is an annual badminton event that commonly held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The tournament has been held since 1937 and has been played in different locations such as Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Penang, Selangor, Kuantan....

 with Zhang Jiewen. At the Beijing Olympics

Badminton at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Badminton competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 9 to August 17 at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.-Qualification:The qualification for 2008 Summer Olympics began from May 2007 until April 2008...

 where they were first seeded, however, Yang and Zhang were upset in the quarterfinals by Japan's Miyuki Maeda

Miyuki Maeda

is a female international badminton player.-Career:Maeda's first major success was at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. With her women's doubles partner Satoko Suetsuna they finished fourth, the best performance to date by Japanese badminton players at the Olympics. The two have continued to compete...

 and Satoko Suetsuna. The event was eventually won by a younger Chinese pair, Du Jing

Du Jing

Du Jing is a female badminton player from the People's Republic of China.-Career:A doubles specialist, Du and her regular partner Yu Yang have steadily emerged as one of the world's elite women's doubles teams since 2004. They confirmed this status by winning the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in...

 and Yu Yang

Yu Yang (badminton)

Yu Yang is a female badminton player from the People's Republic of China.-Career:A doubles specialist, Yu and her regular partner Du Jing have steadily emerged as one of the world's elite women's doubles teams since 2004. They confirmed this status by winning the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in...

, perhaps signaling a changing of the guard in the Chinese dynasty.

External links

• http://sports.sina.com.cn/star/yangwei/