Xie Xingfang (born January 8, 1981) is a retired Chinese badminton player from Guangzhou, Guangdong. She is a former defending two-time world champion for women's singles, and former women's singles World No. 1.[1]

Xie Xingfang
谢杏芳
Personal information
CountryChina
Born (1981-01-08) January 8, 1981 (age 43)
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb; 9 st 6 lb)
HandednessRight
Women's singles
Highest ranking1
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  China
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Women's singles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Anaheim Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 2006 Madrid Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 2009 Hyderabad Women's singles
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2005 Yiyang Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Yiyang Women's singles
Sudirman Cup
Gold medal – first place 2005 Beijing Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Glasgow Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2009 Guangzhou Mixed team
Uber Cup
Gold medal – first place 2004 Jakarta Women's team
Gold medal – first place 2006 Sendai/Tokyo Women's team
Gold medal – first place 2008 Jakarta Women's team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha Women's singles
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2000 Jakarta Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 2009 Suwon Women's singles
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Melbourne Girls' doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Melbourne Mixed doubles
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1999 Yangon Girls' doubles
Gold medal – first place 1999 Yangon Girls' team
Gold medal – first place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Girls' team
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Girls' doubles
BWF profile
Xie Xingfang
Traditional Chinese謝杏芳
Simplified Chinese谢杏芳

Her first big title was in girls' doubles, with her provincial teammate Zhang Jiewen, at the World Junior Championships in 1998. She has also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in mixed doubles with Cai Yun. However, once she entered the Chinese national team, she switched to singles. 2004 was her "break-out" year, as she won several top tier titles on the world circuit. Xie and her senior compatriot and rival Zhang Ning were the most dominant international women's singles players of the middle and late parts of the decade, though they were pressed by younger teammates such as Zhu Lin, Lu Lan, Jiang Yanjiao and Wang Yihan. Due to her height and slender figure, she is regarded to have elegant movement. Xie's strengths were her reach, quickness, consistency, and court sense. She was a member of China's world champion Uber Cup teams of 2004, 2006, and 2008.

Her last appearance as a player in a major badminton competition came at the National Games of China in October 2009.

During most of her badminton career Xie was romantically involved with fellow Chinese badminton star Lin Dan. In 2006 Xie and Lin won their respective women's and men's singles titles at the IBF World Championships in Madrid. Xie had also won the world title in 2005 when Lin finished second to Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat. Xie Xingfang and Lin Dan were married in Guangzhou, China, on 13 December 2010, after seven years of dating. She is also a mother of a son, Lin Xiao Yu, who was born on 5 November 2016.

Achievements edit

Olympic Games edit

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2008 Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium, Beijing, China   Zhang Ning 12–21, 21–10, 18–21   Silver

World Championships edit

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2009 Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, India   Lu Lan 21–23, 12–21   Silver
2006 Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad, Madrid, Spain   Zhang Ning 21–16, 21–14   Gold
2005 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, United States   Zhang Ning 11–8, 9–11, 11–3   Gold

World Cup edit

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2006 Olympic Park, Yiyang, China   Wang Yihan 18–21, 19–21   Silver
2005 Olympic Park, Yiyang, China   Zhang Ning 21–19, 21–16   Gold

Asian Games edit

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2006 Aspire Hall 3, Doha, Qatar   Wang Chen 17–21, 21–17, 16–21   Bronze

Asian Championships edit

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2009 Suwon Indoor Stadium, Suwon, South Korea   Zhu Lin 11–21, 10–21   Silver
2000 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia   Ellen Angelina 2–11, 11–7, 11–3   Gold

World Junior Championships edit

Girls' doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1998 Sports and Aquatic Centre,
Melbourne, Australia
  Zhang Jiewen   Gong Ruina
  Huang Sui
3–15, 15–13, 15–10   Gold

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1998 Sports and Aquatic Centre,
Melbourne, Australia
  Cai Yun   Chan Chong Ming
  Joanne Quay
4–15, 3–15   Bronze

Asian Junior Championships edit

Girls' doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1999 National Indoor Stadium – 1,
Yangon, Myanmar
  Zhang Jiewen   Li Yujia
  Wei Yili
15–9, 15–6   Gold
1998 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  Dong Fang   Jun Woul-sik
  Lee Hyo-jung
3–15, 8–15   Bronze

BWF Superseries edit

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries has two levels: Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries features twelve tournaments around the world, which introduced since 2011, with successful players invited to the Superseries Finals held at the year end.

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2009 Singapore Open   Zhou Mi 19–21, 21–18, 10–21   Runner-up
2008 Hong Kong Open   Wang Chen 16–21, 21–10, 10–21   Runner-up
2008 French Open   Wang Lin 18–21, 21–13, 11–21   Runner-up
2008 Swiss Open   Zhang Ning 21–18, 21–17   Winner
2007 Hongkong Open   Zhu Lin 21–19, 21–14   Winner
2007 China Open   Wong Mew Choo 16–21, 21–8, 17–21   Runner-up
2007 French Open   Pi Hongyan 21–13, 21–13   Winner
2007 Japan Open   Tine Rasmussen 15–21, 17–21   Runner-up
2007 China Masters   Zhang Ning 21–11, 8–21, 23–21   Winner
2007 Singapore Open   Zhang Ning 18–21, 21–19, 3–21   Runner-up
2007 All England Open   Pi Hongyan 21–6, 21–13   Winner
2007 Korea Open   Zhu Lin 21–14, 21–7   Winner
  BWF Superseries tournament
  BWF Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF Superseries Finals tournament

BWF Grand Prix edit

The BWF Grand Prix has two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. The World Badminton Grand Prix has been sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation since 1983.

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2008 Thailand Open   Lu Lan 26–24, 21–7   Winner
2007 Macau Open   Jun Jae-youn 21–10, 21–10   Winner
2007 German Open   Huaiwen Xu 19–21, 21–12, 21–19   Winner
2006 Japan Open   Zhang Ning 11–21, 21–16, 29–30   Runner-up
2006 Hongkong Open   Zhang Ning Walkover   Winner
2006 Chinese Taipei Open   Zhang Ning 15–21, 15–21   Runner-up
2006 China Masters   Wang Lin 21–15, 13–21, 15–21   Runner-up
2006 All England Open   Zhang Ning 11–6, 4–11, 11–2   Winner
2005 China Open   Zhang Ning 11–3, 4–11, 8–11   Runner-up
2005 Hongkong Open   Zhang Ning 4–11, 11–1, 6–11   Runner-up
2005 Japan Open   Zhang Ning 7–11, 8–11   Runner-up
2005 All England Open   Zhang Ning 11–3, 11–9   Winner
2005 German Open   Zhang Ning 11–5, 11–4   Winner
2004 Indonesia Open   Eriko Hirose 11–8, 11–0   Winner
2004 China Open   Wang Chen 5–11, 11–3, 11–4   Winner
2004 German Open   Xu Huaiwen 9–11, 11–6, 11–7   Winner
2004 Denmark Open   Yao Jie 11–9, 8–11, 11–7   Winner
2003 Indonesia Open   Wang Chen 11–6, 8–11, 11–1   Winner
2003 Japan Open   Camilla Martin 1–11, 5–11   Runner-up
2003 All England Open   Zhou Mi 6–11, 5–11   Runner-up
1999 Hong Kong Open   Ling Wan Ting 7–11, 11–7, 11–4   Winner
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

IBF International edit

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2002 French International   Wang Rong 7–3, 7–2, 7–1   Winner

Record against selected opponents edit

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.

References edit

  1. ^ "The many faces of Xie Xingfang". China Daily. Retrieved 24 April 2018.

External links edit