One of my three favorite, Gong Ruina i love watching her because she have something that nobody have. (and she's very pretty =p) the first time i saw Ruina it was at the china open 2003 (unfortunately ruina give up...) can anybody tell me more about her (if she has a boyfriend lool) Here some pics...see the style of Ruina
One of these days we're going to have a split on which Chinese ladies singles player we find the most appealing to the BF members. We now have a Gong devotee as well as those of Zhou and Xie. How about a poll eh, kwun? Keeping it first at Chinese national to help narrow the scope a little, then we do European, then SEA for example... From there onwards, we select the most popular few of the polls and create an unofficial fan club! Worth looking into, I think.
I hardly see her SMILE . She looks serious, maybe too focused in her game. I think she has a good complexion, good height, though heavier in build than Xie and a few of the other top Chinese singles players. A smile will make a great difference and may project the hidden glow in her face unlike the COLD look she now conveys. Maybe under her "unfriendly" facade is her strong determination to win and succeed! No doubt she is in great form now, having won the recent Swiss Open crown and my bet is that she will also win the AE, followed by the Olympic gold. That is if injury stays away. I would like to see the happy, radiant and smiling face when she mounts the rostrum to receive her much deserved accolades.
Friend's sister. Hey, my friend's sister kinda looks like her, except cuter than her, and younger too! Oh yeah, she plays badminton too, except she sucks at it, so she ain't totally better than Gong Ruina.
looking at the adverts, and the court colour, could be the swiss? Dont you think the shoes look funny?
they are definitetly yonex shoes, but really old models...some people where I play still wear them, and if it really is the swiss open, i dont get why gong is wearing them
it is indeed the Swiss Open 2004. as for the shoes. yes, it looks like an old old Yonex model. may be from 4-5 yrs ago. as for why she is wearing that instead of the newer ones? i have no idea. it appears that she is using it throughout the tournament also. here is a wild guess though, she was injured in the China Open, perhaps the older shoes are better fit or better padding for her? just a wild guess as i said.
One question since we're on shoes : I remember seeing an old poster somewhere that Yang Yang was wearing the cheap (USD$ 3) Dragonfly brand. Was it always that way, and when did they switch to using Yonex shoes? (apart getting the sponsorhip). It's a popular kind of shoe brand for a lot of the good players back in high school, back then, that is.
badminton apparel has evolved so much since that era... sigh.. within a few years players will be loaded down like the US SWAT teams, what with infra-red or pinpoint laser aiming etc.