TheStar PETALING JAYA: Many badminton players have bade farewell to the game after winning a gold medal in the Olympic Games. And former Malaysian international player Datuk Punch Gunalan believes that the trend will continue and a new generation of players will rule the world after the Athens Games. “Some of the players are planning retirement after the Athens Games and they will certainly go all out to end their career with a bang. The Olympics usually is their swansong,†said Punch. He said the Olympic Games have also seen many gold medallists - old and young - who sunk into oblivion after achieving success. “It may seem bizarre but if we refer back to the records, many players somehow disappear after winning at the Olympics. It is either that their careers take a dive or they just give up the sport completely. Most of them do not feature in the next Games.†A classic case was China's Ji Xinpeng, the men's singles gold medallist at the last Games in Sydney. He was an unknown 23-year-old player prior to the Games but he upset the formbook to win. He, however, never recovered from the sensational win. Among the notable players, who left the scene after winning in the Olympics are Indonesian Alan Budi Kusuma (men's singles, Barcelona 1992); South Koreans Park Joo-bong-Kim Moon-soo (men's doubles, Barcelona 1992. Joo-bong did make a comeback in 1996 Atlanta to win the mixed doubles gold with Gil Young-ah); Dane Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen (men's singles, Atlanta 1996), Korean Bang Soo-hyun (women's singles, Atlanta); China's Ge Fei-Gu Jun (women's doubles, Atlanta). Punch said that Malaysia's medal hope will be on their seasoned campaigners – Wong Choong Hann and Mohd Roslin Hashim (singles) and Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan (doubles). “Choong Hann and Roslin, who will be out to prove themselves in probably their last Games. Tan Fook-Wan Wah may also be hoping for a last hurrah.†Besides Malaysia, the other countries - South Korea, Denmark, Indonesia and China - are also set to lose some of their top players. The Koreans may see the end of their formidable Kim Dong-moon-Ha Tae-kwon (men's doubles), Lee Dong-soo-Yoo Yong-sung (men's doubles) and the versatile Ra Kyung-min (women's doubles and mixed doubles player). Danish players out for their last hurrah are Camilla Martin (women's singles), Peter Gade-Christensen (men's singles) and Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen (men's doubles). Indonesia may see a revamp after Athens and it could spell the end for doubles players Sigit Budiarto-Trikus Hariyanto and Flandi Limpele-Eng Hian. And China, who are never short of talent, are certain to parade a new group of players in Beijing 2008. Those in search for final glory in Athens will probably be Chen Hong (men's singles), Gong Ruina (women's singles), Gao Ling-Huang Sui (women's doubles).
Gong ruina is only 23?? she's too young for stop now i never heard that she wanted to stop after olympics ... I wish it's not true ....
It was Kim Dong Moon who won the XD Gold with Gil Young Ah. Park Joo Bong took the silver partnering 20-year-old Ra Kyung Min.
I guess the journalist made a huge mistake. Not Gong Rui Na who will retire after Olympics but Zhang Ning (29 years old). And I also never heard Peter Gade said he will retire after Olympics. The journalist write the article probably based on her/his opinion, mislead lots of badminton fans.
The star is famous for making unsubstanciated claims like these. It's nothing new for them to mislead sports fans this way. I wish there was somewhere we could write in to complaing about these things.
It will be also the last Olympics of Denyse Julien from Canada at 44 years old!!! After 3 Olympics (1992, 1996 and 2004) and 6 Commonwealth Games!!! She has no chance to win a medal, but she is a true ambassador of the game in Canada. JRMTL
44! i am ashamed of myself... hopefully Denyse will continue to promote badminton even after she retires from professional competition.