China’s defending Olympic champion Zhang Ning won gold in the women’s badminton singles yesterday, pulling off a stunning upset over world No. 1 and compatriot Xie Xingfang.
Zhang, the veteran of the Chinese team, won a gripping match over hot gold medal favorite Xie 21-12, 10-21, 21-18 in front of a packed chanting crowd and watched by millions throughout China.
Zhang, who crouched on the court in tears after the match, said she started to doubt 100 days before the Games that she could win a medal after swelling in her knee refused to go down.
PHOTO: AP
Even after Athens, when she won gold at 29, Zhang, whose injured right knee was strapped during the match, thought she was too old for elite badminton and had not even considered playing in Beijing.
“After the Athens Games I didn’t think about participating in the Beijing Games, especially during the last two years,” the second seed said. “I wasn’t doing very well and I was kind of confused, I didn’t know what to do, but then I persevered, I tried very hard, I did a lot of training so this gold didn’t come very easy.”
Underdog Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia took bronze after she defeated China’s third seed Lun Lan.
The victory leaves China with two golds at this tournament after taking the women’s doubles title on Friday and keeps alive their ambitions of clinching all five, topping their tally of three in Athens.
The loss was a heartbreak for top seed Xie, 27, competing at her first Olympics after being left out of the China team in Athens.
Fans had been hoping for a golden double from Xie and her boyfriend, fellow world No. 1 Lin Dan, who fights for gold against Malaysia’s second seed Lee Chong Wei today in the men’s singles final.
“Since I didn’t get the gold medal I’m still a bit upset and I just hope that tomorrow Lin Dan will be able to beat Lee Chong Wei,” the silver medalist said, refusing to comment on her future plans with Lin.
Xie, a two-time world champion, hinted before the Games of retirement after Beijing, saying she wanted a life with Lin other than training and competition.
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB