Zhang Ning

Zhang Ning
张宁
Personal information
CountryChina
Born (1975-05-19) 19 May 1975 (age 49)
Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight64 kg (141 lb; 10.1 st)
HandednessRight
Women's singles
Career record385 Win, 97 Loss
Highest ranking1
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  China
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Women's singles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Birmingham Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 2005 Anaheim Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Madrid Women's Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Seville Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2005 Yiyang Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Yiyang Women's singles
Sudirman Cup
Gold medal – first place 2005 Beijing Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Glasgow Mixed team
Uber Cup
Gold medal – first place 2006 Tokyo/Sendai Women's team
Gold medal – first place 2004 Jakarta Women's team
Silver medal – second place 1996 Hong Kong Women's team
Silver medal – second place 1994 Jakarta Women's team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Bangkok Women's team
Gold medal – first place 2002 Busan Women's team
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha Women's team
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Manila Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 2002 Bangkok Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 1999 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles
Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 1996 Seoul Women's singles
East Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1993 Shanghai Women's team
Silver medal – second place 1993 Shanghai Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Shanghai Women's singles
BWF profile

Zhang Ning (simplified Chinese: 张宁; traditional Chinese: 張寧; pinyin: Zhāng Níng; born 19 May 1975) is a former Chinese badminton player. She won the Olympic gold medal twice for women's singles in both 2004 and 2008. She has played badminton on the world scene since the mid-1990s and has been particularly successful since 2002 while in her late twenties and early thirties, relatively late for singles at the highest level, and especially for top players in the Chinese system who are developed very early. She is known for her consistency of shot, deception and constant pressure, dictating the pace of rallies and working her opponents in all four corners of the court. She is the only female player to win consecutive Olympic singles gold medals. She also became World champion in 2003 and has a total of five medals of all colours in the competition.

Zhang first represented China in the Uber Cup (women's world team championship) competition in 1994 and last represented it in 2006. Though she was not always chosen to play in each of the biennial editions of this tournament, the span of her Uber Cup service is the longest of any Chinese player.