At the Tokyo Olympics, both MD Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen and WD Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifann played so well en route to the finals only to inexplicably bungle in the gold medal matches, playing like amateurs, unrecognisable. Luckily, they didn't botch it in the preliminary rounds or I'd shudder to think the brickbats they'd be inundated with from their Chinese and overseas fans, figuratively burying them alive. It's as if they were able to hold their nerves until it finally gave way in the ultimate round, bizarre, to me.
didnt see it coming.. slowly 26 becoming 36 in chinese badminton scene?? so many pro players retired before 30..
Sad to see him go, but he clearly suffered from a back injury during the OG. It looked like it popped up in the last group match? He kept putting his hands on his back after longer rallies after that match... And if he has suffered from many injuries and can't train properly, then it's probably the right thing to do Will miss him though!
For all the bad raps that Li JunHui received, he wrote a moving farewell announcement: https://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2021-11-12/doc-iktzqtyu6914962.shtml He cited the injuries, particularly the one that he suffered in 2017 during a league match, that prevented him from regular trainings, as the main reason for retirement. He thanked Liu YuChen, his "good friend and good brother for life", among the many people in his life. It's too bad. Wish him well!
I’d call Han Chengkai’s retirement bizarre. For Li Junhui, the writing has been on the wall for a while now.
