Fu Haifeng

Fu Haifeng (born 23 August 1983) is a Chinese badminton player. He is considered one of the all-time greats of badminton. Combining Fu Haifeng's impressive power with his regular partner Cai Yun's impressive speed, he has won numerous top tier events on the world circuit including the All England Open in 2005 and 2009 and the BWF World Championships in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Cai and Fu have helped China win five consecutive Thomas Cup (World men's team championships) (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012) and six consecutive Sudirman Cup (World mixed team championships) (2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015). Cai and Fu also competed together in the Olympic games 3 times, including the 2004, the 2008 and the 2012 Olympic Games.

Career At the 2010 BWF World Championships in Paris, Fu with his partner Cai Yun being the fifth seed—beat the third seed Danish pair Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen 21–11, 21–18 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, they defeated the second seed Indonesian Olympic Champions Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan 21–16, 21–13. In the finals, they overcame the first seed and Malaysian world no. 1 Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong 18–21, 21–18, 21–14 to win the world title for the 3rd time. They are the first men's doubles pair to achieve this feat.

Cai and Fu went on to win the China Masters Super Series. Being the fifth seed, they first defeated their second seed compatriots Xu Chen and Guo Zhendong 21–11, 21–16 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they made a great comeback against the third seed South Korean rival Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung 20–22, 21–13, 21–17. Cai and Fu then clinched their second China Masters title by defeating the fourth seed South Korean pair Yoo Yeon-seong and Ko Sung-hyun in 2 sets 21–14, 21–19. Cai and Fu won their third title in a row by winning the Yonex Japan Open Super Series. They, being the fifth seed, beat the young Korean Pair Cho Gun-woo and Kwon Yi-goo 21–14, 16–21, 21–12 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they defeated their promising compatriots Zhang Nan and Chai Biao 21–17, 21–16. In the finals, they made a great comeback again against the first seed and Malaysian world no. 1 Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong 18–21, 21–14, 21–12 to win their first Japan Open title.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, they defeated Denmark's Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen in the final to win the gold medal.

Having had 1 Olympic gold medal and 4 World Championship titles, as well as many other titles, Cai and Fu are one of the most successful men's doubles pair in badminton history.

An ancillary badminton achievement of Fu is that while competing in the 2005 Sudirman Cup, one of his smashes was clocked at 332 km/h (206 mph), the fastest propulsion of a shuttle on record. Fu also fired a 303 km/h smash during game 3 of the 2010 BWF World Championships men's doubles final, which was confirmed by the commentator Gillian Clark as the fastest of the tournament. The fastest smash by Fu during the 2011 Sudirman Cup final was clocked at 291 km/h.

In 2014, Fu played with mixed doubles champion Zhang Nan in the All England Super Series. They lost to the Indonesian pair Muhammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the quarter finals 21-23 20–22. Later on it, they took revenge at Denmark Open Super Series, and became the champion after beating top seed Korean pair Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong in 2 straight sets in the final.

In 2015, his partnership with Zhang Nan was stable after reaching several Super Series Finals such as Singapore Open, Indonesia Open, Japan Open, All England as runners-up.

In 2016, they won the Singapore Open Super Series after beating the top seed from Korea Lee/Yoo in 2 straight sets at semi final. Their performance later in several Super Series was not so climatic. They were seeded 4th in the Olympic Games in Rio, as Fu claimed his second gold medal in men's doubles category after beating Malaysian's pair Tan/Goh in 3 sets. He ends his career having reached 3 consecutive finals in the Olympic Games with two different partners, winning gold twice.

Achievements

Olympic Games Men's doubles

BWF World Championships Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2003 National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, United Kingdom Cai Yun Sigit Budiarto Candra Wijaya 15–6, 10–15, 9–15 Bronze Bronze 2006 Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad, Madrid, Spain Cai Yun Robert Blair Anthony Clark 21–9, 21–13 Gold Gold 2009 Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, India Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 21–18, 16–21, 28–26 Gold Gold 2010 Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris, France Cai Yun Koo Kien Keat Tan Boon Heong 18–21, 21–18, 21–14 Gold Gold 2011 Wembley Arena, London, England Cai Yun Ko Sung-hyun Yoo Yeon-seong 24–22, 21–16 Gold Gold 2013 Tianhe Sports Center, Guangzhou, China Cai Yun Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan 19–21, 17–21 Bronze Bronze

World Cup Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2005 Olympic Park, Yiyang, China Cai Yun Sigit Budiarto Candra Wijaya 21–11, 21–18 Gold Gold 2006 Olympic Park, Yiyang, China Cai Yun Lin Woon Fui Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari 15–21, 21–13, 17–21 Bronze Bronze

Asian Championships Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2011 Sichuan Gymnasium, Chengdu, China Cai Yun Hirokatsu Hashimoto Noriyasu Hirata 21–12, 21–15 Gold Gold 2016 Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China Zhang Nan Li Junhui Liu Yuchen 21–23, 19–21 Bronze Bronze

BWF Superseries (16 titles, 14 runners-up) The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Men's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2007 All England Open Cai Yun Koo Kien Keat Tan Boon Heong 15–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2007 Singapore Open Cai Yun Choong Tan Fook Lee Wan Wah 16–21, 24–22, 21–18 Winner 2007 Indonesia Open Cai Yun Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari 21–17, 22–20 Winner 2007 China Masters Cai Yun Markis Kido Hendra Setiawan 21–15, 21–16 Winner 2007 French Open Cai Yun Choong Tan Fook Lee Wan Wah 21–14, 21–19 Winner 2008 Korea Open Cai Yun Luluk Hadiyanto Alvent Yulianto 21–7, 20–22, 21–17 Winner 2008 Denmark Open Shen Ye Markis Kido Hendra Setiawan 15–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2009 All England Open Cai Yun Han Sang-hoon Hwang Ji-man 21–17, 21–15 Winner 2009 Indonesia Open Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 15–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2009 China Masters Cai Yun Guo Zhendong Xu Chen Walkover Runner-up 2010 Korea Open Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 11–21, 21–14, 18–21 Runner-up 2010 China Masters Cai Yun Ko Sung-hyun Yoo Yeon-seong 21–14, 21–19 Winner 2010 Japan Open Cai Yun Koo Kien Keat Tan Boon Heong 18–21, 21–14, 21–12 Winner 2011 Singapore Open Cai Yun Hendra Aprida Gunawan Alvent Yulianto 21–17, 21–13 Winner 2011 Indonesia Open Cai Yun Chai Biao Guo Zhendong 21–13, 21–12 Winner 2011 China Masters Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 17–21, 10–21 Runner-up 2011 Japan Open Cai Yun Mohammad Ahsan Bona Septano 21–13, 23–21 Winner 2011 Denmark Open Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 16–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2011 French Open Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 21–14, 15–21, 11–21 Runner-up 2011 Hong Kong Open Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 14–21, 24–22, 21–19 Winner 2012 Korea Open Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 18–21, 21–17, 21–19 Winner 2012 All England Open Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 23–21, 9–21, 14–21 Runner-up 2012 Hong Kong Open Cai Yun Koo Kien Keat Tan Boon Heong 21–16, 21–17 Winner 2014 Denmark Open Zhang Nan Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong 21–13, 25–23 Winner 2015 All England Open Zhang Nan Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen 17–21, 20–22 Runner-up 2015 Indonesia Open Zhang Nan Ko Sung-hyun Shin Baek-cheol 16–21, 21–16, 19–21 Runner-up 2015 Singapore Open Zhang Nan Angga Pratama Ricky Karanda Suwardi 15–21, 21–11, 14–21 Runner-up 2015 Japan Open Zhang Nan Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong 19–21, 27–29 Runner-up 2016 Singapore Open Zhang Nan Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda 21–11, 22–20 Winner 2017 Malaysia Open Zheng Siwei Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 14–21, 21–14, 12–21 Runner-up BWF Superseries Finals tournament BWF Superseries Premier tournament BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (8 titles, 8 runners-up) The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Men's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2003 Malaysia Open Cai Yun Kim Dong-moon Lee Dong-soo 15–17, 11–15 Runner-up 2003 German Open Cai Yun Eng Hian Flandy Limpele 15–9, 8–15, 4–15 Runner-up 2004 Swiss Open Cai Yun Luluk Hadiyanto Alvent Yulianto 15–9, 17–14 Winner 2004 Japan Open Cai Yun Ha Tae-kwon Kim Dong-moon 7–15, 15–6, 6–15 Runner-up 2004 Indonesia Open Cai Yun Luluk Hadiyanto Alvent Yulianto 8–15, 11–15 Runner-up 2005 German Open Cai Yun Jens Eriksen Martin Lundgaard Hansen 6–15, 15–3, 15–10 Winner 2005 All England Open Cai Yun Lars Paaske Jonas Rasmussen 15–10, 15–6 Winner 2005 Malaysia Open Cai Yun Sigit Budiarto Candra Wijaya 11–15, 14–17 Runner-up 2005 Hong Kong Open Cai Yun Jens Eriksen Martin Lundgaard Hansen 15–13, 15–9 Winner 2006 China Masters Cai Yun Jens Eriksen Martin Lundgaard Hansen 17–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2006 Chinese Taipei Open Cai Yun Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae 21–14, 21–18 Winner 2006 Macau Open Cai Yun Guo Zhendong Zheng Bo 21–12, 9–21, 21–19 Winner 2006 China Open Cai Yun Markis Kido Hendra Setiawan 16–21, 16–21 Runner-up2008 Thailand Open Cai Yun Guo Zhendong Xie Zhongbo 21–17, retired Winner 2014 Swiss Open Zhang Nan Chai Biao Hong Wei 20–22, 14–21 Runner-up 2015 Chinese Taipei Open Zhang Nan Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21–13, 21–8 Winner BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament