Born:9 October 1975

Birthplace: Nanjing (China)

Nationality: China

Sport: Badminton

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Atlanta 1996

Sydney 2000

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 2

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 3 (97, 99)

Bronze: 2 (95, 99)

Protecting the net

Ge Fei and Gu Jun from Jiangsu Province began playing badminton together when they were nine years old. Twelve years later they ran roughshod through the field at the 1996 Olympics, outscoring the four teams they played 120 to 39. In the final, as expected, they faced Koreans Gil Young-Ah and Jang Hye-Ock, the reigning world champions. The two sides had met ten times with Ge and Gu holding a 6-4 advantage. In Atlanta the Chinese pair attacked relentlessly and Gil and Jang were unable to establish their own rhythm. The match was over in 36 minutes. Ge and Gu continued their doubles dominance between Olympics, winning the 1997 world championships, the 1998 Asian Games and the 1999 world championships. In fact, they were unbeaten for four and a half years until compatriots Yang Wei and Huang Nanyan upset them at the Japan Open in April 2000. There would be no such surprises at the 2000 Sydney Games. Ge and Gu outscored their four opponents 120-45. The only time they gave up more than seven points in a game was in the semifinals when fellow Chinese Gao Ling and Qin Yiyuan managed 12 points in the second game before succumbing. Ge, whose specialty was playing close to the net, also won a world championship in mixed doubles in 1997, while pairing with Liu Yong.