Source: Sipa USA/Sports Press Photo
[Saba Sports News] The official French media agency AFP has written an article selecting the top five Chinese athletes to watch at this Olympic Games. Among them, China’s top badminton player Shi Yuqi was a popular choice. According to AFP, Shi Yuqi’s career has been filled with ups and downs, but his timing for participating in the Olympics seems perfect. Shi Yuqi was once regarded as the successor to former Olympic champions Lin Dan and Chen Long, but he was defeated by the eventual champion Viktor Axelsen in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics. Afterward, Shi Yuqi withdrew from competition for nearly a year, only returning to the court at the end of 2022. The reason was an internal ban imposed by the Chinese badminton team’s higher-ups because he mysteriously retired at match point in a game, later being accused of poor sportsmanship. Currently 28 years old, Shi Yuqi surpassed Axelsen in June this year to become the world’s number one ranked men’s singles badminton player for the first time and is a strong favorite for the Olympic gold medal. Besides Shi Yuqi, the other four selected Chinese athletes are tennis player Zheng Qinwen, table tennis player Ma Long, diver Quan Hongchan, and swimmer Zhanle Pan.