CHEN HONG (China)



 

Twice winner of the All-England Championships and
China Open, Chen was born on November 28, 1979 in the
Fujian province. He saw action in the 2004 Olympic
Games in Athens, hurdling past Kenneth Jonassen of
Denmark and Malaysian Lee Chong Wei in the first two
rounds before bowing to Korean Shon Seung-mo in the
quarters.

In last year’s World Badminton Championships, he
defeated Taufik Hidayat in the quarterfinals, the
first time he had beaten the Indon ace. He, however,
lost to compatriot and now world No. 1 Lin Dan in the
semis.

After winning the Denmark Open and the China Open late
last year, Chen went winless in the first half of
2007, finishing second in the Asian Continental
Championships and settling for semifinal stints in the
Indonesia Super Series and the Malaysia Super Series.
There has been reports that Chen is planning to retire
this year, so expect a strong showing by the world No.
3 in his next tournaments, starting with the Bingo
Bonanza Philippine Open on July 18-22 at the
Philsports Arena in Pasig City, Metro Manila.