Chen Long – an asset for China in the badminton arena
Chen Long has successfully registered himself as one of the best players in the badminton circle. He comes from a long chain of Chinese shuttlers who have stamped their class in the badminton arena like Lin Dan, Chen Jin, Wang Yihan, Wang Xin and Wang Shixian.
The 23-year-old Chen Long is the current World Number Three as his track record testifies the fact that he has earned this position with his prime skills in the game. He has stunned the world many times by defeating top players like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei.
The world took notice of Long for the first time when he snatched the Asian Junior Champion title in 2007. He continued his impressive run and in the very same year, he claimed the crown of World Junior Championships by defeating Kenichi Tago of Japan.
The young shuttler took time to make his mark in the senior category. The Badminton Asia Championships 2009 was the first major leap for him as he reached in the final and finished with a runner-up trophy. He lost to his country mate Bao Chunlai.
Later in Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold, Lee Chong Wei stopped his expedition in the final and again, Long had to wear the silver medal. Despite a couple of defeats in finals of the above-mentioned events, Long did not have to wait long as in the same year he bagged the gold medal in Philippine Open.
Chen started the next season by losing to Danish striker Peter Gade in the semi-finals of Korea Open Super Series 2010, followed by a first round exit in Malaysia Open. In the All England Open, he took off with a convincing victory over 8th seed Jan Jorgensen but fell in the second round.
In the finals of Swiss Open, he finished as a runner-up to compatriot Chen Jin. The Thomas Cup and Asian Games 2010 brought team gold medals for him. He won his first individual title of the year in Bitburger Open, Germany, followed by a second win against Lin Dan in China Masters.
Lin Dan’s controversial walk over in quarter-finals helped him in emerging as the victor in the China Open Super Series. Playing five finals of the season and winning two of them took him to the position of number three in world rankings.
In 2011, top seeded Lee Chong Wei spoiled his party in the first tournament of new season by blowing him away in the semi-finals of Malaysia Open. Chen next lost in the Korea Open a week later. He then put up a good show in Thailand Open and won his first individual title of 2011. Another shock for him was at the World Championships when he got eliminated in first round but he bounced back by eclipsing Chen Jin and won his first China Masters title.
This followed by two avenging victories over World Number One Lee Chong Wei in Japan Open and Denmark Open. After winning three titles in a row, he ended the season by losing to Lin Dan in a Super Series Masters final.
The year 2012 did not start well for him as Chong Wei annihilated him in MayBank Malaysia Open semi-finals.
During his career, Chen Long has reached the finals of top-notch tournaments on fourteen occasions, winning seven of them. He has played 158 matches and has a winning tally of 120 scalps.
His flashing track record indicates that he has grown into a major threat and even if China loses players like Lin Dan and Chen Jin, Long is ready to ensure China’s supremacy in the future.
Tags: