Old masters still making their mark

Chen Long, Fu Haifeng urge China's young guns to raise their game

Facing growing pressure from foreign talents, the Chinese badminton squad is no longer the dominant force it was when Chen Long and Fu Haifeng were in their prime.

The veterans reckon a lack of international competition due to the pandemic has not helped China's young players stamp their authority on the global game, but are nonetheless confident the next generation can rise and meet the challenge.

"There are many outstanding and promising young players in Team China, but they need more chances to compete in high-level international events," Chen Long told China Daily in an exclusive live chat along with Fu on Friday.

"I believe, starting from next year, they will be able to compete in more international tournaments, and that's how they can grow and gain more experience."

Team China finished top of the badminton medal standings at the Tokyo Olympics, claiming two golds and four silvers from the five disciplines. Two months later, China's top shuttlers won team titles at the Uber Cup in Denmark and Sudirman Cup in Finland, as well as a silver at the Thomas Cup.

Impressive, but still not up to the high standards of all-conquering men's doubles legend Fu, who along with playing partner Cai Yun, was inducted into badminton's Hall of Fame in June.

"Honestly speaking, Team China does not have any obvious advantages now. But I think players are in trouble if they think that they are way ahead of their opponents," Fu told China Daily.

"Although we had good results at the Tokyo Olympics, we faced really tough battles in all disciplines. We weren't the clear favorite for any of the gold medals. Still, we have a very strong system and support team to help our athletes, which is especially important now that we still need to deal with the pandemic."

Following the retirements of Fu, Cai and men's singles superstar Lin Dan, China's next-gen talents have struggled to live up to the lofty standards set during the country's golden era in the sport from 2000 to 2012.

The women's squad is currently enjoying more success in its rebuild project, with a host of young stars, led by Tokyo 2020 champion Chen Yufei, cleaning up on the world stage.

The men's squad, though, is still struggling to unearth a successor to superstar Chen Long. At the age of 32, defending champion Chen saw Denmark's Viktor Axelsen wrest the Olympic title from his grasp in Tokyo. Chen, though, is still immensely proud of his silver.

"I gave all I had in my third Olympics and I managed to reach the final. Although I failed to bring home gold, I think I had prepared as comprehensively as possible and did my best," said Chen, who won bronze at London 2012 before claiming gold in Rio four years later.

"I feel my mindset has been good since I lost that Tokyo final. Those who were following Chinese badminton would know that before the Tokyo Games, China's men's singles players were facing tough challenges in Tokyo.

"In a way, we did not have any clear advantages in strength, so my goals were different compared to the Rio Olympics. All I wanted was to give all that I had in each match. And I did not think too much about the final result. There will always be regrets, and no athlete can win all the time."

Changing mentality

With the younger generation of Chinese badminton stars still developing, Fu has urged them to take the positives from their failures.

"The most memorable defeat of my career was the final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We weren't good enough on the day, especially in terms of our mentality," recalled Fu, who subsequently won men's doubles gold in 2012 and 2016.

"That defeat was our springboard to success in many ways and we grew so much from it. So, for the younger generation of players, they have won major events in Europe in recent months, which was a great boost for their confidence. And I hope they can maintain this momentum to keep trying to win more tournaments."

Fu says living a disciplined daily life and setting clear goals are also vital components to success, adding: "The Paris Olympics is just three years away, so the younger players need to start thinking those Games are very close, rather than thinking the Tokyo Games are just finished. I wish them the best of luck."

Like Fu, Chen told China Daily that it's the setbacks and challenges that have defined his career as much as the glorious moments.

"When I face defeats and challenges, I still keep the faith and believe in myself. I stick to my plans, and I feel I have accomplished these well so far. I'm happy to keep believing after all these years," Chen said.

"For example, when I first received the notice that the Tokyo Olympics was postponed, I was pretty perturbed. There was a fear of the unknown, I suppose. The one-year postponement meant I would be a year older as a veteran and I would need another year of preparations. I was not sure if I could maintain peak condition for an extra year.

"But thanks to the help of the national team coaches and my family, their encouragement and our communication helped me to stay focused. I set my goals for the Olympics and followed my plan step by step."

Chen also advised that his young compatriots follow suit by simply taking one match at a time.

"Just because the foreign rivals are very strong, the younger players should not fret or worry too much. They just need to think about how to challenge these rivals," he said.

Chen and Fu are also keeping tabs on badminton's development at the grassroots level. After Friday's live chat, the pair participated in the Li-Ning LIYONGBO Cup 3v3 Badminton Tournament, an activity designed to promote the sport's development in China.

"I've been working on promoting the sport of badminton. During major competitions, as long as the national team needs my help, I will try my best to help them," said Fu.

"Also I've been participating in many amateur badminton events, including the Li-Ning LIYONGBO Cup 3v3 Badminton Tournament, to promote the sport in our country and allow more people to experience its charm.

"Badminton teaches kids patience, as the training can be tedious at times. That ultimately benefits them in other aspects of life, and they can learn how to solve problems. Badminton is often a mental battle with your opponent, and you need to think a lot. All these aspects benefit the next generation."