Chen Yufei, China's reigning women's singles gold medalist from the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, is set to defend her title at the upcoming Paris 2024 Games.
Under the guidance of coach Luo Yigang over the past six years, Chinese women's singles shuttlers have dominated international tournaments, including the Tokyo Olympics and the Uber Cup. Their impressive performance continued with four of the top eight players at the Badminton World Federation's Olympic qualification tournament hailing from China.
With each national badminton association limited to sending only two players per singles event, team officials have selected Chen Yufei and He Bingjiao to represent China in the women's singles at Paris 2024.
Reflecting on her journey, Chen shared with the China Media Group (CMG), \"I have been in my comfort zone since I won the women's singles Olympic gold medal. I haven't been able to achieve any major breakthroughs since then. I have lost many matches by no more than two points. Those matches looked close and I seemed to be working hard, but I just couldn't win. It had nothing to do with my stamina. I just lacked enough will to win.\"
Coach Luo expressed his concerns, noting, \"Chen wants to win her second gold in Paris, but I can feel that something has changed with her mindset. She may not handle it well when difficulties grow too big for her. That's one of my concerns.\"
One of Chen's toughest challenges at Paris 2024 will be facing World No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea. Luo commented, \"An Se-young is one of the main opponents for us. She may not be as aggressive as she used to be before suffering an injury at the Asian Games, but no one has 100-percent confidence in beating An in a women's singles match, even after she slows down.\"
Chen acknowledged An's prowess, saying, \"I think An reads the match better than before and better than I do. She understands the sport well. She always chooses the right tactics and reads her opponent's plays correctly. She knows exactly how to win the match.\"
Determined to defend her title, Chen emphasized the importance of balancing confidence with a relaxed mindset, aiming to enjoy the sport while striving for Olympic glory.
Reference(s):
China's Olympic badminton gold medalist Chen Yufei fears no challenge
cgtn.com
