Cai Yun (born 19 January 1980) is a former professional

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player representing China. He is the 2012 London Olympic gold medallist and a four-time World Champion in men's doubles. He is regarded as one of the greatest men's doubles player of all time.

Sport career

Combining Cai Yun's impressive speed with his regular partner

Fu Haifeng Fu Haifeng (born 23 August 1983) is a Chinese former badminton player. He is regarded as one of the greatest men's doubles players of all time. Sport career Combining Fu Haifeng's impressive power with his regular partner Cai Yun's impressive ...

's impressive power, Cai and Fu have been one of the world's leading men's doubles teams since 2004. They have won numerous top tier events on the world circuit including the venerable

All England Open Championships The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the BWF's latest grading system, it was given Super Series status in 2007, upgraded to Super Series Premie ...

in 2005 and 2009. They have won the BWF World Championships 4 times in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011, becoming the first Men's Doubles pair to achieve this feat. Cai and Fu have helped China win five consecutive

Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

(Men's Team World Badminton Championships) (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, 2006,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

) and six consecutive

Sudirman Cup The Sudirman Cup is an international badminton mixed team competition contested by member countries of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every two years since the 1989 Sudir ...

(World Team Championships) (

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, 2011,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

). Cai and Fu also competed together in the Olympic games 3 times, including the

, the 2008 Olympic Games and the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals in

, and in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

were silver medalists, losing a close final to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

's Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan. At the

2010 BWF World Championships 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length ...

, they, being the fifth-seed, beat the third-seed Danish pair

Mathias Boe Mathias Boe (born 11 July 1980) is a badminton player from Denmark. He was the gold medalist at the 2015 European Games, two time European champions winning in 2012 and 2017, and the silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He joined the De ...

and

Carsten Mogensen Carsten Mogensen (born 24 July 1983) is a former badminton player from Denmark. He was the gold medalist at the 2015 European Games, two time European champions winning in 2012 and 2017, and the silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Moge ...

21–11, 21–18 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, 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 Tan Boon Heong (, born 18 September 1987) is a former World No.1 Malaysian professional badminton player in the men's doubles event. Career 2004-2006 Tan was previously paired with Hoon Thien How, with whom he won the World Junior Champ ...

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 Li-Ning 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 Chai Biao (; born 10 October 1990) is a Chinese professional badminton player. Chai has concentrated on men's doubles for the majority of his senior career in badminton. His most successful partnership was with Hong Wei: together they reached the ...

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

18–21, 21–14, 21–12 to win their first Japan Open title. In the 2012 Summer Olympics, they defeated Denmark's Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen in the final to win the gold medal. Having won 1 Olympic gold medal and 4 World Championship titles, as well as many other titles, Cai and Fu is one of the most successful men's doubles pairs in badminton history. They have expressed the will to continue their career together as long as they can after the London Olympics.

Achievements

Olympic Games

''Men's doubles''

BWF World Championships

''Men's doubles''

World Cup

''Men's doubles''

Asian Championships

''Men's doubles''

World Junior Championships

''Boys' doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

Asian Junior Championships

''Boys' doubles''

BWF Superseries

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 The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...

(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'' : BWF Superseries Finals tournament :

BWF Superseries The BWF Super Series was a series of Grade 2 badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). It was launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007. Since 2011, the Super Series includes two levels of tournament, S ...

Premier tournament :

tournament

BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

(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'' : BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament : BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

Personal life

Cai Yun married synchronised swimmer Wang Na in 2010. Wang Na gave birth to a daughter in 2012, and to a second child in probably late 2014. mentioned Wang Na was again pregnant. (Cai Yun's doubles partner-turned-coach Zhang Jun married Wang Na's teammate

Hu Ni Hu Ni (, born 9 February 1981) is a Chinese synchronized swimmer who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Personal life Hu Ni married badminton player Zhang Jun in 2006. Their son was born in 2009. (Hu Ni's teammate Wang Na married Zhang Jun' ...

in 2006.)

References

External links

* *
Cai Yun's Blog

Profile
– Beijing 2008 Olympic Games {{DEFAULTSORT:Cai, Yun 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Suzhou Badminton players from Jiangsu Chinese male badminton players Badminton players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of China Olympic gold medalists for China Olympic silver medalists for China Olympic medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2006 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2010 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games silver medalists for China Asian Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games World No. 1 badminton players BWF Best Male Player of the Year Nanjing Sport Institute alumni