Zhang Ning wins all-Chinese badminton women's singles Olympic goldXie Xingfang missed the Olympic gold in the women's singles badminton as she lost to fellow Chinese and defending champ Zhang Ning in Saturday's final.
Xie Xingfang and her boyfriend Lin Dan, hailed as a "golden couple" in China and who on and off top their respective world rankings, have a huge fan base in the country.
The 27-year-old Xie was disappointed when she waved her hand to the audience after the 21-12, 10-21, 21-18 loss.
"It is acceptable for any of us to win the gold. But I am a little disappointed because I might not play in the London Olympic Games," said the soft-spoken Xie."
As a regular visitor to the top of the world rankings in the recent years, Xie has yet to win an Olympic gold. In the previous Games she was excluded from the Chinese team .
She has become more aggressive on court and got better in coping with pressure after the Athens Games, taking two singles titles in the 2005 and 2006 world championships.
Xie's first big title was from the world junior championships in 1998 when she combined with her provincial teammate Zhang Jiewen to take the women's doubles gold.
Once she entered the Chinese team, Xie switched to singles. She is regarded as a connection between two generations of players. The older generation included Gong Ruina, Zhou Mi and Zhang Ning and the younger is represented by Lu Lan, a singles semifinalist in the Beijing Olympics.
Facing victories or defeats, she could never be as loud as Lin Dan, nicknamed Super Dan for his dominance on the court, nor to mention Lin's brash reactions to rivals and coaches.
She was only found to be involved in a public verbal war, when Athens Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat called Lin arrogant and Xie responded that Taufik was even worse.
In China, Xie and Lin are called the badminton golden couple or "the Condor Couple," named after the characters in a Chinese novel about an impetuous young warrior and his calm and tender lover.
"I have no idea what my wedding will be like. Should it be grand?" said Xie when asked on her planned marriage with Lin.
Xie said she wanted to have many bridal photos, as most of the existing photos are taken on the badminton court.
"Lin picks dresses for me when we go shopping. He also gives suggestions on my dressing," said Xie.
A native of south China's Guangdong Province, Xie is slim and tall. She is good at controlling the court with a 1.79-meter height and a strong will.
"It is good for him to change his personality a little bit. However, I just want Lin to be himself," said Xie.
She rested the hope for an Olympic gold on Lin Dan after Saturday's defeat. Lin will fight in the men's singles final against Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia on Sunday.
Source: Xinhua
