The Uber Cup semifinals defeated the Japanese team 3:0, the Thomas Cup semifinals defeated Malaysia 3:1, and on the semi-finals of the 2024 Tongyou Cup, the women's and men's teams of the national team successfully broke through and joined hands to enter the finals of this year's Tongyou Cup. It is proud that this is the 12th time in the history of the national feather men's and women's teams that they have reached the final of the Tang You Cup together.
The badminton team made its debut in 1982, when the Chinese men's badminton team won the Thomas Cup against traditional champions Indonesia. However, at that time, the Chinese women's badminton had not yet won the Uber Cup, and the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup were not held in the same year. In 1984, the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup were held at the same time, and it was in that year that the Chinese women's badminton first embarked on the journey of the Thomas Cup. In the 1984 Tang You Cup, both the men's and women's national badminton teams reached the finals, becoming the first badminton team in history to create this miracle.
In the mid-to-late 80s of the 20th century, the national feather created its first golden time in the world arena, and in the three Tang You Cups in 1986, 1988 and 1990, the national feather men's and women's teams all entered the finals together, and both won the trophy, which was very beautiful for a while. Affected by the lack of succession of the team, the two national feather teams fell into a trough in the 90s, and the Chinese women's feather failed to win the cup in 1994 and 1996. In contrast, the Chinese men's badminton fell even worse, with only 2000 of the six Tang Cup tournaments held between 1992 and 2002 reaching the final, and the other five reaching the semi-finals.
After all, Chinese badminton has a strong competitive foundation, after several years of impact, the two national teams re-ascended to the top of the world badminton world, the Chinese women's badminton regained the Uber Cup in 1998, the Chinese men's badminton in the 2004 Tang You Cup after 6 consecutive defeats, the national feather after 14 years and once again won the Tang You Cup two championship trophies.
In the nearly 10 years since then, Guoyu has created the second golden period in history. From 2004 to 2012, the Chinese men's badminton team won the Thomas Cup five times in a row, and during this period, the Chinese women's badminton also reached the finals five times in a row. Since 2014, as legendary superstars such as Lin Dan and Fengyun have gradually passed their peak, the Chinese men's badminton is no longer the ruler of the Tang Cup, and stopped in the semi-finals in 2014, and was even blocked from the semi-finals in 2016 and 2022. After winning three consecutive championships from 2012 to 2016, the Chinese women's badminton team was upset by Thailand in the semi-finals of the 2018 Uber Cup, and failed to appear in the final of the tournament for the first time in history.
However, after all, the national badminton team is a traditional strong team with a profound heritage, after several years of training, a new batch of badminton national players are gradually gaining wings, and this year's Tang You Cup once again contributed to the finals.
Please remember that the 12 times the national and men's and women's teams have reached the finals of the Tang You Cup: 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2021 and 2024, of which 7 competitions in 1986, 1988, 1990, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2012 have created the miracle of winning both championships. In addition to the miracle created by the national team, only the Indonesian team achieved the miracle of winning the double cup in 1994 and 1996, and the national team deserves to be the number one team in the world badminton in the past 40 years.
On the evening of May 4, the national feather men's and women's teams successfully broke through to the semifinals after three years, writing a new glory for the 12th time to join hands in the finals. On the final day of May 5, can the national feather men's and women's teams perform again to win the Tangyou Cup after 12 years?