Xia Xuanze (born 5 January 1979) is a former badminton player from China who played singles at the world level from the late 1990s through the first few years of the 21st century. Now he is a singles coach for the national team of China.
Career
At one time or another he experienced victory in most of badminton's biggest events. The exception came in his sole appearance at the Olympics when he was beaten in the semifinals of the 2000 Games in Sydney by Indonesia's Hendrawan. Xia settled for a bronze medal there after defeating Denmark's Peter Gade in the playoff for third place.[2] Earlier in that season, Xia had won the prestigious All-England Championships over eighteen-year-old Taufik Hidayat. He captured men's singles at the IBF World Championships in 2003 by defeating Malaysia's Wong Choong Hann. Finally, in international team play, he was a member of the Chinese squad that ended a long drought by capturing the highly coveted Thomas Cup (men's world team competition and trophy) in 2004.
In the 2010 Thomas Cup, Xia coached Chen Jin, witnessing his country win 3–0 over Indonesia for their fourth consecutive Thomas Cup.
In 2017, Xia Xuanze together with Zhang Jun replaced Li Yongbo as head coach of the Chinese badminton team.[3]
Player attributes
Xia's game was marked by impressive speed and agility, aggressive and accurate net play, and adequate, if not overwhelming, overhead power. The power he used in his legs allowed him to "play the shot" very early. This attribute, combined with very sophisticated and consistent deceptive shots, gave some of his opponents the opportunity to win very few points at all.
Achievements
Olympic Games
Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Pavilion 3, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, Australia |  Peter Gade
|
15–13, 15–5 |  Bronze
|
World Championships
Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, United Kingdom |  Wong Choong Hann
|
15–6, 13–15, 15–6 |  Gold
|
Asian Championships
Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | PhilSports Arena, Manila, Philippines |  Lin Dan
|
15–10, 15–9 | Gold
|
| 2002 | Nimibutr Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand |  Taufik Hidayat
|
2–15, 11–15 |  Bronze
|
IBF World Grand Prix
The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | German Open |  Pullela Gopichand
|
15–4, 13–15, 15–4 |  Winner
|
| 1999 | Dutch Open | Ji Xinpeng
|
15–10, 15–13 | Winner
|
| 2000 | All England Open | Taufik Hidayat
|
15–6, 15–13 | Winner
|
| 2000 | Swiss Open | Ji Xinpeng
|
15–8, 15–6 | Winner
|
| 2000 | Malaysia Open | Taufik Hidayat
|
10–15, 14–17 |  Runner-up
|
| 2000 | World Grand Prix Finals | Marleve Mainaky
|
7–4, 7–5, 2–7, 8–6 | Winner
|
| 2001 | China Open | Wong Choong Hann
|
3–7, 7–3, 2–7, 7–5, 7–4 | Winner
|
| 2002 | Japan Open |  Lee Hyun-il
|
7–5, 5–7, 7–0, 5–7, 2–5 | Runner-up
|
| 2003 | Japan Open | Lin Dan
|
15–12, 15–10 | Winner
|
| 2004 | Korea Open | Chen Hong
|
15–9, 17–15 | Winner
|
| 2004 | Denmark Open | Lin Dan
|
12–15, 11–15 | Runner-up
|
| 2004 | German Open | Lin Dan
|
16–17, 9–15 | Runner-up
|
| 2006 | Swiss Open | Lee Chong Wei
|
8–15, 0–15 | Runner-up
|
References
- ^ "Biographical information: Xia Xuanze". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Xia Xuanze". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04.
- ^ "Chinese badminton head coach Li Yongbo replaced by Xia Xuanze and Zhang Jun". www.chinadailyhk.com. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
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