Fu Haifeng
Fu Haifeng is a Chinese badminton player. He is considered one of the all-time greats of badminton. Combining Fu Haifeng's impressive power with his regular partner Cai Yun's impressive speed, he has won numerous top tier events on the world circuit including the All England Open in 2005 and 2009 and the BWF World Championships in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Cai and Fu have helped China win five consecutive Thomas Cup and four consecutive Sudirman Cup . Cai and Fu also competed together in the Olympic games 3 times, including the 2004, the 2008 and the 2012 Olympic Games.
Career
At the 2010 BWF World Championships in Paris, Fu with his partner Cai Yun being the fifth seed—beat the third seed Danish pair Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen 21–11, 21–18 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, they defeated the second seed Indonesian Olympic Champions Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan 21–16, 21–13. In the finals, they overcame the first seed and Malaysian world no. 1 Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong 18–21, 21–18, 21–14 to win the world title for the 3rd time. They are the first men's doubles pair to achieve this feat.Cai and Fu went on to win the China Masters Super Series. Being the fifth seed, they first defeated their second seed compatriots Xu Chen and Guo Zhendong 21–11, 21–16 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they made a great comeback against the third seed South Korean rival Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung 20–22, 21–13, 21–17. Cai and Fu then clinched their second China Masters title by defeating the fourth seed South Korean pair Yoo Yeon-seong and Ko Sung-hyun in 2 sets 21–14, 21–19. Cai and Fu won their third title in a row by winning the Yonex Japan Open Super Series. They, being the fifth seed, beat the young Korean Pair Cho Gun-woo and Kwon Yi-goo 21–14, 16–21, 21–12 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they defeated their promising compatriots Zhang Nan and Chai Biao 21–17, 21–16. In the finals, they made a great comeback again against the first seed and Malaysian world no. 1 Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong 18–21, 21–14, 21–12 to win their first Japan Open title.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, they defeated Denmark's Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen in the final to win the gold medal.
Having had 1 Olympic gold medal and 4 World Championship titles, as well as many other titles, Cai and Fu are one of the most successful men's doubles pair in badminton history.
An ancillary badminton achievement of Fu is that while competing in the 2005 Sudirman Cup, one of his smashes was clocked at 332 km/h, the fastest propulsion of a shuttle on record. Fu also fired a 303 km/h smash during game 3 of the 2010 BWF World Championships men's doubles final, which was confirmed by the commentator Gillian Clark as the fastest of the tournament. The fastest smash by Fu during the 2011 Sudirman Cup final was clocked at 291 km/h.
In 2014, Fu played with mixed doubles champion Zhang Nan in the All England Super Series. They lost to the Indonesian pair Muhammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the quarter finals 21-23 20–22. Later on it, they took revenge at Denmark Open Super Series, and became the champion after beating top seed Korean pair Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong in 2 straight sets in the final.
In 2015, his partnership with Zhang Nan was stable after reaching several Super Series Finals such as Singapore Open, Indonesia Open, Japan Open, All England as runners-up.
In 2016, they won the Singapore Open Super Series after beating the top seed from Korea Lee/Yoo in 2 straight sets at semi final. Their performance later in several Super Series was not so climatic. They were seeded 4th in the Olympic Games in Rio, as Fu claimed his second gold medal in men's doubles category after beating Malaysian's pair Tan/Goh in 3 sets. He ends his career having reached 3 consecutive finals in the Olympic Games with two different partners, winning gold twice.
Achievements
Olympic Games
Men's doubles| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium, Beijing, China | ![]() BWF World ChampionshipsMen's doubles
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