There is no first in the text, and there is no second in the martial arts!
This is also true in competitive sports, where most people will only remember who the champion is after many years, and few will remember the athletes who participated outside the championship.
It is also because of this that there may be many outstanding athletes in the same era, but the athlete who has won the most championships and has the best results will definitely receive the most attention.
The same is true for a specific project and within a certain team.
In a team, the athlete with the best performance is often also the leader, and fans or netizens often call them "first brother" and "first sister".
Today, let's take stock of the four generations of "first sisters" of the Chinese badminton team in the past 20 years:
One: Gong Zhichao
Gong Zhichao was born in Anhua, Hunan Province in 1977 and is 46 years old this year.
Gong Zhichao was born in an ordinary working family, and the reason why she came into contact with badminton was because after she went to elementary school, she saw other classmates playing badminton when she was in physical education class, and she slowly fell in love with the sport after she started it.
When Gong Zhichao was 8 years old, the badminton coach of Anhua Sports School came to Gong Zhichao's place to select good seedlings for the primary school, and fell in love with Gong Zhichao at a glance, so Gong Zhichao embarked on a professional path.
When he first entered Anhua Sports School, except for the enlightenment coach, other coaches were not optimistic about Gong Zhichao, because Gong Zhichao was very thin at that time, only about 50 pounds.
But the enlightenment coach is very optimistic about Gong Zhichao, and Gong Zhichao's talent in badminton quickly showed thanks to the enlightenment coach.
It was probably in 1989, when Gong Zhichao was 12 years old, that she was selected for the Hunan provincial team.
After entering the provincial team, the competition has become bigger, but Gong Zhichao has also worked harder than before, after participating in many competitions large and small, as well as training with the coach day and night.
Gong Zhichao gradually figured out his own set of playing styles: every time he fought against others, Gong Zhichao would be good at using multiple shots to capture the opponent's weaknesses and loopholes, and then seize the opportunity to strike later.
In professional terms: pull hanging type, Gong Zhichao once commented on his style of play: This style of play is very hard, but it suits me.
Five or six years after entering the provincial team, Gong Zhichao was selected for the second Chinese badminton team.
After entering the second team, Gong Zhichao's eyes were on the first team, after all, the second team has always been a transition, and only entering the first team is the ultimate goal.
The hard work paid off, and about half a year after entering the second team, Gong Zhichao was selected for the first team.
In 1996, Gong Zhichao won the women's singles championship in the Asian Championships for the first time.
In 1997, Gong Zhichao first won the Sudirman Cup championship with her teammates, and then won the women's singles runner-up at the World Championships, and she also won the women's team championship and women's singles runner-up at the National Games this year.
In 1998, Gong Zhichao won the Uber Cup championship with his teammates, and also won the women's singles championship of the National Championships in the same year.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 23-year-old Gong Zhichao won the women's singles championship in her first Olympic Games, and she became the national feather women's single sister of that era.
In 2001, Gong Zhichao, who brought the Olympic champion, first won the Sudirman Cup with his teammates, and then won the women's singles championship of the 9th National Games.
Just when everyone was expecting Gong Zhichao to have a better performance, Gong Zhichao, who was less than 25 years old in 2002, announced his retirement.
Gong Zhichao, who retired for two years in 2004, announced his retirement and represented the Hunan team in the 10th National Games, and finally the Hunan women's team won the women's team championship in the 10th National Games under the leadership of Gong Zhichao.
After retiring, Gong Zhichao returned to Hunan as the deputy director of the Sports Lottery Management Center.
Two: Zhang Ning
Born in 1975, Zhang Ning is 49 years old.
Zhang Ning's parents have a son in addition to her, that is, Zhang Ning's younger brother.
When he was a child, Zhang Ning's father often traveled for work reasons, while Zhang Ning's mother suffered from a herniated disc in her waist, and she often couldn't get out of bed when her condition was serious, so many times Zhang Ning not only had to go to school but also take care of her mother and younger brother.
It may be this environment that has cultivated Zhang Ning's excellent quality of perseverance.
After entering elementary school, Zhang Ning showed his outstanding athletic talent, whether it was 400 meters, 800 meters or 1500 meters in school, Zhang Ning could have the last laugh.
In 1984, the badminton coach of Jinzhou Sports School went to Zhang Ning's primary school to select seedlings, and she took a fancy to Zhang Ning at a glance.
But Zhang Ning didn't want to go to the sports school to practice badminton at first, on the one hand, she felt that it would definitely cost more money, and on the other hand, she had to take care of her mother and younger brother, but the coach decided that Zhang Ning would do something in badminton, so he did not hesitate to persuade Zhang Ning's parents many times, and with the unremitting efforts of the coach, Zhang Ning finally embarked on a career path.
Zhang Ning's talent in badminton is indeed very high, and after practicing badminton for three years, she was favored by the coach of Liaoning Provincial Sports School and went to Shenyang from Jinzhou.
After two years of training at the Liaoning Provincial Sports School, in 1989, 14-year-old Zhang Ning entered the Liaoning Provincial Badminton Team.
In 1991, Zhang Ning entered the national team, and in 1994, at the age of 19, Zhang Ning won the women's singles championship at the French Open.
Zhang Ning's height is 1.75 meters, she is an offensive player, and she came to Zhang Ning only on personal terms to surpass Gong Zhichao, Dai Yun and other players at that time, and many fans are optimistic that she will become the next leader of the Chinese badminton team.
But who knew that in the 1994 Uber Cup, Zhang Ning, as the third singles of the national feather, drew 2-2 with Indonesia in the first four games, and her fifth game was crucial.
In the fifth game, Zhang Ning's opponent was only 15-year-old Indonesian genius girl Zhang Haili, and in the end Zhang Ning lost to Zhang Haili 1-2, not only giving the Uber Cup to the Indonesian team after five years of national feathers, but also missing the Atlanta Olympics.
In 1998, Zhang Ning jumped to No. 1 in the world rankings, and she had every chance to participate in the Sydney Olympics according to the qualification, but who knew that after that, he was suspended by the coach for half a year because he was late for a training session, so his points declined, and he finally failed to participate in the Sydney Olympics.
When Gong Zhichao, who was two years younger than herself, won the women's singles championship at the Sydney Olympics, Zhang Ning said that it was false not to envy, and she also thought about giving up at that time, but finally chose to persevere.
In the 2003 World Championships, Zhang Ning won his first singles world championship, and in 2004, the 29-year-old Zhang Ning finally got the Olympic quota and finally won the women's singles championship.
After the Athens Olympics, everyone thought that Zhang Ning would most likely retire, but who knew that Zhang Ning finally chose to continue to persevere.
Of course, behind it was Li Yongbo, the head coach of the Chinese badminton team at the time, who talked to Zhang Ning, hoping that Zhang Ning would persist for another term, because many young players in the national badminton women's singles had not yet played at that time.
thought that in the Beijing Olympic cycle, Zhang Ning was more responsible for bringing young players, but who knew that in the end, at the age of 33, she also won the women's singles championship of the Beijing Olympics.
Since badminton entered the Olympic Games, Zhang Ning was the first athlete to win the Olympic women's singles championship in a row, and she was therefore the undisputed "first sister" of the national feather at that time.
Three: Li Xuerui
Li Xuerui was born in Chongqing in 1991 and is 33 years old this year.
Li Xuerui's parents were both workers, so Li Xuerui spent most of her time with her grandparents when she was young.
When Li Xuerui was a child, she was a little naughty, and her grandparents doted on her very much, and when she reached the age of elementary school, Li Xuerui's parents felt that they couldn't let their daughter go on like this.
So, when Li Xuerui was 7 years old, she was sent by her parents to Chongqing Dadukou District Sports School to practice badminton.
Parents mean to sharpen Li Xuerui's temperament, and at the same time cultivate Li Xuerui's interest in sports by the way.
After practicing badminton for about three or four years, Li Xuerui won the first place in the age group of the Chongqing Youth Badminton Competition.
In 2003, 12-year-old Li Xuerui was selected for the Chongqing badminton team and won the National Junior Badminton Championship for the next three years.
After that, Li Xuerui went from the national youth to the national youth team and then to the national second team within a year, achieving three consecutive jumps.
At that time, both the coaching staff and fans had high expectations for Li Xuerui, and Li Xuerui did not live up to these expectations, in 2007 at the age of 16, she won the women's singles championship of the National Youth Championships, and in 2008 she won the women's singles championship of the Asian Youth Championships.
In 2010, Li Xuerui, who was only 19 years old, was selected for the national first team.
Li Xuerui, who just entered the national first team, was still a little-known player, and the national feather women's singles at that time had Wang Yihan, Wang Xin, Wang Shixian and other famous players.
If when Li Xuerui was just selected for the national first team, some people said that Li Xuerui would win the London Olympic championship, or only that she could win the quota for the London Olympics, they would be said to be fools' dreams.
But who knew that it was such a young player under the age of 20 who stirred up the pattern of the national feather women's singles, and in those two years she won the Asian Championships women's singles championship, German badminton, and All England badminton two super events.
It only took one year for Li Xuerui's world ranking to go from the top ten to the top four, so at the final London Olympics, the national badminton coaching staff chose to abandon Wang Shixian and use Li Xuerui.
In the end, Li Xuerui successfully reached the top of the London Olympics, while Wang Shixian regretfully retired before the Rio Olympics.
Li Xuerui's career is undoubtedly full of legends, after all, she was only the third singles player in the women's singles at the London Olympics, after all, she was in the national first team less than two years when she won the London Olympics.
After that, Li Xuerui won a total of nine championships in that year, and reached No. 1 in the world ranking at the end of the year, and this ranking lasted for a total of 19 weeks, setting a record for the longest single time in the women's singles world.
After winning the women's singles championship at the London Olympics, Li Xuerui is the national feather women's singles sister, she was only 25 years old in 2016, and everyone expects her to successfully defend the Olympic women's singles championship like her sister Zhang Ning.
But who knows, Li Xuerui accidentally suffered a torn ligament and was seriously injured when she played against Marin in the semifinals, and was even taunted by Marin for being "blown up".
Since then, Li Xuerui has never been able to return to peak form, and the Chinese badminton team has also fallen into a slump after the Rio Olympics.
After a few years, after the 2019 Military Games, 28-year-old Li Xuerui announced her retirement.
After retiring, Li Xuerui returned to her hometown Chongqing to work, and married her younger brother Qiao Bin, who was one year younger, and her life was also happy and happy.
Four: Chen Yufei
Chen Yufei, who was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in 1998, is 26 years old this year.
Chen Yufei was very naughty when she was young, just like a boy, she couldn't walk well, she ran up and down, and she was very active.
Chen Yufei's father liked to play basketball when he was young, so Chen Yufei often followed her father in and out of the stadium when she was very young, and she held a basketball racket when she was fine.
When Chen Yufei was still in kindergarten, Chen Yufei's father learned that the badminton coach of Hangzhou Chen Jinglun Sports School went to Tonglu to select materials, so he took his daughter Chen Yufei to the interview.
It was said that Chen Yufei was naughty and active when she was a child, and her body coordination was very good, so she was selected by the coach of Chen Jinglun Sports School.
After practicing at Chen Jinglun Sports School for two years, 8-year-old Chen Yufei was selected for the Zhejiang Provincial Team, and 15-year-old Chen Yufei entered the national team.
At that time, the national team was full of talents, whether it was the new Olympic champion Li Xuerui or the world singles champion Wang Yihan, or Wang Shixian were all world famous players, and Chen Yufei was still a young player.
It is worth mentioning that among the young generation of the national feather women's singles at that time, there was also a very outstanding player, that is, He Bingjiao.
In her youth and youth, Chen Yufei's achievements were not very Bingjiao, and at that time, fans were more optimistic about He Bingjiao.
However, Chen Yufei should be regarded as a latecomer, especially after Chen Yufei won the women's singles championship at the 2017 Tianjin National Games, she completely led He Bingjiao.
In 2018, with the retirement of Wang Yihan, Wang Shixian and others, Li Xuerui fell into injury, and Chen Yufei served as a single in the Uber Cup this year, but in the end, the national feather women's team stopped in the semifinals, and Chen Yufei also lost to Intanon, who was at her peak.
In those years, Chen Yufei won the All England Open, Australian Open, BWF China 750 Open, BWF Pro Tour Finals, National Championships and other competitions.
Although Chen Yufei's strength is not weak, she always seems to be close to a super-first-class player, so everyone's expectations for her to win the championship at the Tokyo Olympics are not too high.
After all, Akane Yamaguchi and Dai Ziying were at their peak at that time, and An Xiying had also grown up, but in the end, Chen Yufei won the women's singles championship all the way.
The long-pending throne of the first sister of the national feather finally ushered in the owner again, and it was also in this year that Chen Yufei won the women's singles championship of the National Games for a second time, becoming the second defending women's singles champion in the history of the National Games.
Although she won the women's singles championship at the Tokyo Olympics and became the national feather women's single sister, Chen Yufei does not have absolute dominance in the world women's badminton arena, which can be seen from the competitions in recent years.
In the same way, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, everyone is not optimistic about the prospects of the national feather women's singles, just like the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, this time I don't know if Chen Yufei can surprise everyone again.
In addition to the above four national badminton women's single sisters, which badminton player do you like, welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss!