Zhang Jun: ‘We Have Complete Tier Development’

Zhang Jun: ‘We Have Complete Tier Development’

It wasn’t just that China won their 14^th Sudirman Cup title, their fourth in succession. Just as impressive was the sheer dominance they exerted throughout the campaign. Korea, the second strongest team in the competition, could provide resistance only in fits and starts; the overall result was almost never in doubt.

Zhang Jun, President of Chinese Badminton Association and doubles head coach, reflects on the campaign, the team line-up for the final, his standout players, and promising names from other countries.

On the Final

The mixed doubles was the first match and it was definitely very important for the result of the team. As coach of course I was nervous and animated and I paid a lot of attention to how the games went. This win laid a foundation for the final result.

We played Wang Zhi Yi for two reasons. First, she had played very well against An Se Young in the past, and she has beaten her. Secondly, she is young and can challenge such a strong opponent.

Zhang Jun with Feng and Huang in the first match of the final

On Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping Recombining

They were split for a while, but it wasn’t permanent. We split them because we wanted to see what kind of spark they would have with other players. We wanted them to see their strengths and weaknesses as well as of their partners.

Outstanding Players for China

First of all, Shi Yu Qi, because he was in very good condition and he took charge of the games he played. The second one is Chen Yu Fei. We know she took a break for studies, and she came back strong. She has performed unexpectedly well.

Key Takeaways from China’s Campaign

We’ve seen strong performances from young players as well as the core players, featuring Shi Yu Qi and Chen Yu Fei. Especially Shi Yu Qi, he won the final in straight games giving just five points in each game. Liu (Sheng Shu) and Tan (Ning) also played well in women’s doubles showcasing their heavy smashes and strong attack, so I’m happy to witness in Xiamen China’s fourth consecutive victory in Sudirman Cup and extending our record to 14.

Multi-Tier Development of Elite Players

China has quite a good establishment. We have young players from the junior team, the second national team and the first team, so we also have a complete tier development, so I think it’s quite good. As for the core players, the experienced players like Chen (Qing Chen) and Jia (Yi Fan) and Shi Yu Qi are still very capable. They are in their late 20s to early 30s, but they are still very competitive and strong. Shi Yu Qi this time faced some challenges. Last year he didn’t reach the podium at Paris 2024 but he did well at other tournaments. If our players come back from losses and challenges, they are still very strong and they can come back even stronger. The atmosphere in Team China is very good. Everybody is willing to make a contribution to reach our ultimate goal.

Standout Players from Other Teams

As for other teams, I’ve seen a lot of young players, they are very good. For example Tomoka (Miyazaki) from Japan, Putri (Kusuma Wardani) from Indonesia, and from Team France.

Although he didn’t come to the Sudirman Cup, (Alex) Lanier from France is doing very well. France also has strong mixed doubles. Putri has potential and is a competitive player, showing great strength in attack, and Team France are also doing well. At this year’s European Championships they won matches over Denmark. So I see France as a strong opponent in the future.

Within Asia you see many teams have talented players. Chinese Taipei has a lot of talented young men’s singles players coming up. I think it’s a very good phenomenon for badminton worldwide because it shows the sport is becoming more competitive and more entertaining to watch.