Gao Ling

Gao Ling (; born 14 March 1979) is a Chinese former badminton player.

Career

Noted for her consistency, anticipation, forecourt prowess, and sporting smile, Gao is one of the most successful doubles players in the history of women's badminton. Her four Olympic badminton medals are the most of any player.

She has won titles at almost every top tier tournament in the world. Gao has earned four gold medals (among nine medals in total) at the BWF World Championships, three of them in women's doubles with Huang Sui (2001, 2003, and 2006) and one of them in mixed doubles with Zhang Jun (2001). She and Zhang Jun won consecutive gold medals in mixed doubles at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, overcoming severe tests in both.

Gao has not earned an Olympic gold medal in women's doubles, a relative gap in her resume, but earned a bronze medal in 2000 with Qin Yiyuan, and a silver medal with Huang Sui in 2004. From 2001 through 2006 she and Huang captured a record six consecutive women's doubles titles at the venerable All-England Championships. Their All-England streak was finally broken in the semifinals of the 2007 tournament by fellow countrywomen Zhang Yawen and Wei Yili. Gao has shared five All-England mixed doubles titles: three with Zhang Jun (2001, 2003, and 2006), and two with Zheng Bo (2007 and 2008).

She has been a member of the perennial world champion Chinese Uber Cup (women's international) team since 2000. Gao Ling received an award during a ceremony to mark her retirement with five other teammates from the Chinese national badminton team on the sidelines of the China Open badminton event in Shanghai, November 23, 2008. However, she was still playing a year later by partnering with Wei Yili. They lost to Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen in the Thailand Open final of 2009, but won the Philippines Open of 2009.

Achievements

Olympic Games Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2000 The Dome,Sydney, Australia Qin Yiyuan Chung Jae-hee Ra Kyung-min 15–10, 15–4 Bronze 2004 Goudi Olympic Hall,Athens, Greece Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 15–7, 4–15, 8–15 Silver

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2000 The Dome,Sydney, Australia Zhang Jun Trikus Haryanto Minarti Timur 1–15, 15–13, 15–11 Gold 2004 Goudi Olympic Hall,Athens, Greece Zhang Jun Nathan Robertson Gail Emms 15–1, 12–15, 15–12 Gold

World Championships Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2007 Putra Indoor Stadium,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 16–21, 19–21 Silver 2006 Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid,Madrid, Spain Huang Sui Zhang Yawen Wei Yili 23–21, 21–9 Gold 2005 Arrowhead Pond,Anaheim, United States Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 16–17, 7–15 Silver 2003 National Indoor Arena,Birmingham, England Huang Sui Wei Yili Zhao Tingting 15–8, 15–11 Gold 2001 Palacio de Deportes de San Pablo,Seville, Spain Huang Sui Zhang Jiewen Wei Yili 15–11, 17–15 Gold 1999 Brøndbyhallen,Copenhagen, Denmark Qin Yiyuan Ge Fei Gu Jun 6–15, 7–15 Bronze

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2007 Putra Indoor Stadium,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Zheng Bo Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir 16–21, 14–21 Silver 2003 National Indoor Arena,Birmingham, England Zhang Jun Kim Dong-moon Ra Kyung-min 7–15, 8–15 Silver 2001 Palacio de Deportes de San Pablo,Seville, Spain Zhang Jun Kim Dong-moon Ra Kyung-min 15–10, 12–15, 17–16 Gold

World Cup Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2006 Olympic Park, Yiyang, China Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 21–19, 21–6 Gold

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2006 Olympic Park, Yiyang, China Zhang Jun Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir 15–21, 16–21 Bronze

Asian Games Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2006 Aspire Hall 3,Doha, Qatar Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 18–21, 23–21, 21–14 Gold 2002 Gangseo Gymnasium,Busan, South Korea Huang Sui Lee Kyung-won Ra Kyung-min 8–11, 7–11 Silver

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2006 Aspire Hall 3,Doha, Qatar Zheng Bo Xie Zhongbo Zhang Yawen 21–16, 25–23 Gold

Asian Championships Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2002 Bangkok, Thailand Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 8–11, 6–11 Silver 2001 Manila, Philippines Huang Sui Deyana Lomban Vita Marissa 12–15, 15–4, 15–6 Gold

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2002 Bangkok, Thailand Zhang Jun Khunakorn Sudhisodhi Saralee Thungthongkam 11–7, 11–8 Gold

World Junior Championships Girls' doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1996 Silkeborg Hallerne,Silkeborg, Denmark Yang Wei Lu Ying Zhan Xubin 15–12, 15–8 Gold

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1996 Silkeborg Hallerne,Silkeborg, Denmark Cheng Rui Wang Wei Lu Ying 4–15, 10–15 Silver

Asian Junior Championships Girls' doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1997 Ninoy Aquino Stadium,Manila, Philippines Yang Wei Chor Hooi Yee Lim Pek Siah 15–10, 15–8 Gold

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1997 Ninoy Aquino Stadium,Manila, Philippines Cheng Rui Chan Chong Ming Lim Pek Siah 15–7, 15–9 Gold

BWF Superseries (11 titles, 3 runner-ups) 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 level such as 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 doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2008 Korea Open Zhao Tingting Du Jing Yu Yang 15–21, 13–21 Runner-up 2008 Malaysia Open Zhao Tingting Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 13–21, 21–16, 22–24 Runner-up 2007 China Open Zhao Tingting Du Jing Yu Yang 17–21, 21–15, 21–8 Winner 2007 Korea Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 12–21, 21–14, 21–16 Winner 2007 Malaysia Open Huang Sui Greysia Polii Vita Marissa 19–21, 21–12, 21–11 Winner

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2008 Indonesia Open Zheng Bo Thomas Laybourn Kamilla Rytter Juhl 21–14, 21–8 Winner 2008 All England Open Zheng Bo Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir 18–21, 21–14, 21–9 Winner 2007 Hong Kong Open Zheng Bo Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir 23–21, 18–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2007 Japan Open Zheng Bo Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir 21–19, 21–14 Winner 2007 China Masters Zheng Bo Anthony Clark Donna Kellogg 21–16, 21–17 Winner 2007 Indonesia Open Zheng Bo Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir 21–16, 21–11 Winner 2007 All England Open Zheng Bo Anthony Clark Donna Kellogg 16–21, 21–18, 21–14 Winner 2007 Korea Open Zheng Bo Thomas Laybourn Kamilla Rytter Juhl 22–20, 21–19 Winner 2007 Malaysia Open Zheng Bo Nathan Robertson Gail Emms 21–12, 14–21, 21–15 Winner BWF Superseries Finals tournament BWF Superseries Premier tournament BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (40 titles, 27 runner-ups) The BWF Grand Prix has two levels, the Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix. 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 doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2009 Thailand Open Wei Yili Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 24–22, 17–21, 15–21 Runner-up 2009 Philippines Open Wei Yili Shendy Puspa Irawati Meiliana Jauhari 21–11, 21–11 Winner 2007 Macau Open Huang Sui Lee Kyung-won Lee Hyo-jung 21–15, 21–7 Winner 2007 Thailand Open Huang Sui Du Jing Yu Yang Walkover Winner 2006 Japan Open Huang Sui Zhang Yawen Wei Yili 21–15, 21–17 Winner 2006 Hong Kong Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 19–21, 21–15, 19–21 Runner-up 2006 Macau Open Huang Sui Lee Hyo-jung Lee Kyung-won 17–21, 21–14, 21–14 Winner 2006 Chinese Taipei Open Huang Sui Lee Hyo-jung Lee Kyung-won 18–21, 21–9, 17–21 Runner-up 2006 Malaysia Open Huang Sui Du Jing Yu Yang 9–21, 21–16, 21–17 Winner 2006 China Masters Huang Sui Zhang Yawen Wei Yili 21–12, 18–21, 21–14 Winner 2006 All England Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 6–15, 15–11, 15–2 Winner 2006 German Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 15–3, 11–15, 10–15 Runner-up 2005 China Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 10–15, 4–15 Runner-up 2005 Hong Kong Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 13–15, 15–8, 6–15 Runner-up 2005 China Masters Huang Sui Du Jing Yu Yang 4–15, 14–17 Runner-up 2005 Malaysia Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 6–15, 8–15 Runner-up 2005 Singapore Open Huang Sui Zhang Dan Zhang Yawen 13–15, 10–15 Runner-up 2005 All England Open Huang Sui Wei Yili Zhao Tingting 15–10, 15–13 Winner 2005 German Open Huang Sui Wei Yili Zhao Tingting 15–4, 15–10 Winner 2004 Malaysia Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 7–15, 6–15 Runner-up 2004 All England Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen Walkover Winner 2004 Swiss Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen Walkover Winner 2003 China Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 15–8, 15–12 Winner 2003 Hong Kong Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 17–14, 15–5 Winner 2003 Malaysia Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 5–15, 15–1, 15–17 Runner-up 2003 Indonesia Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen Walkover Winner 2003 Singapore Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 16–17, 7–15 Runner-up 2003 Japan Open Huang Sui Wei Yili Zhao Tingting 10–13, 11–6, 11–5 Winner 2003 All England Open Huang Sui Yang Wei Zhang Jiewen 11–9, 11–7 Winner 2002 China Open Huang Sui Wei Yili Zhao Tingting 11–9, 11–3 Winner 2002 Indonesia Open Huang Sui Sujitra Ekmongkolpaisarn Saralee Thungthongkam 11–5, 11–4 Winner 2002 Japan Open Huang Sui Lee Kyung-won Ra Kyung-min 5–7, 7–1, 2–7, 8–6, 1–7 Runner-up 2002 Korea Open Huang Sui Chen Lin Jiang Xuelian 7–2, 7–3, 5–7, 7–3 Winner 2002 All England Open Huang Sui Zhang Jiewen Wei Yili 7–3, 7–5, 8–7 Winner 2001 Malaysia Open Huang Sui Huang Nanyan Yang Wei 1–7, 7–4, 3–7, 0–7 Runner-up 2001 Japan Open Huang Sui Huang Nanyan Yang Wei 15–13, 15–10 Winner 2001 All England Open Huang Sui Wei Yili Zhang Jiewen 10–15, 15–8, 15–9 Winner 2000 Swiss Open Qin Yiyuan Huang Nanyan Yang Wei 15–5, 8–15, 15–9 Winner 1999 China Open Qin Yiyuan Ge Fei Gu Jun 5–15, 6–15 Runner-up 1999 Denmark Open Qin Yiyuan Chen Lin Jiang Xuelian 15–12, 15–8 Winner 1999 German Open Qin Yiyuan Chen Lin Jiang Xuelian 13–15, 13–15 Runner-up 1999 Thailand Open Qin Yiyuan Emma Ermawati Vita Marissa 15–8, 15–2 Winner 1999 Malaysia Open Qin Yiyuan Ge Fei Gu Jun 8–15, 10–15 Runner-up

Mixed doubles