Xinhua News Agency, Nanning, June 2 (Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Xian) As an athlete, he won the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics.

　　As the head coach, he took over the doubles group from the low point of the national badminton team after the Rio Olympics and launched a comeback battle for the Tokyo Olympics.

　　As the chairman of the association, he is committed to promoting the substantive reform of the association, breaking down the barriers between professional and amateur badminton, and allowing more young people to enjoy the fun of badminton.

　　He is Zhang Jun, a former Olympic badminton champion, the current chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association and head coach of the doubles group of the Chinese badminton team. Facing every role in his career, Zhang Jun frankly said that "the previous role was always more comfortable," but the change of identity has pushed Zhang Jun to constantly write new scripts under pressure.

　　Zhang Jun cheering for the national badminton team at the Sudirman Cup

　　Making good use of new players, the national badminton team completes a blood transfusion

　　In the Sudirman Cup World Badminton Mixed Team Championships, which recently concluded, the young Chinese team swept the recently strong Japanese team 3-0 in the final, winning the Sudirman Cup for the 11th time and winning a key Sino-Japanese badminton game before the Tokyo Olympics.

　　In this contest, the Chinese men's doubles combination Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen, women's singles Chen Yufei, and men's singles Shi Yuqi defeated their respective opponents, unexpectedly shutting out Japan and ending the Sino-Japanese team competition, which was considered before the game to have the potential for the longest match time, so early that the Chinese women's doubles combination Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan, mixed doubles combination Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong and other players who were scheduled to play in the latter two matches, won the world championship while sitting on the sidelines. These young players are Zhang Jun's winning formula for the Tokyo Olympics.

　　"The young players performed well in this Sudirman Cup, showing strong competitiveness." Zhang Jun said, "The overall strength of the Japanese team is very strong, but we are the host, and our team is very young, so we used the mentality of young people to impact them."

　　After the Rio Olympics, with a group of veteran players retiring or leaving, the national badminton team faced severe tests of new and old players. At the beginning of 2017, after Li Yongbo stepped down as the head coach of the national badminton team, the national team no longer set up the positions of head coach and deputy head coach, instead Xia Xuanze and Zhang Jun were appointed as the head coaches of the singles and doubles groups of the national badminton team respectively. Shortly after the new coach took office, they encountered a "Waterloo" in the Sudirman Cup that year, and boldly using new players became the only choice for Zhang Jun and Xia Xuanze.

　　In the following two years, Zhang Jun and Xia Xuanze continuously showed their courage in on-site command and determination to train new players. The new generation of national badminton players also took to the stage in their own way. In this Sudirman Cup, veteran Chen Long only played once, and all other matches were completed by young players. After Shi Yuqi defeated Kento Momota, the world's number one men's singles player, helping the Chinese team secure the trophy, the national badminton players rushed onto the court, cheering and throwing Zhang Jun high into the air.

　　"We will give every athlete a chance, and they have to fight for themselves on the court, winning Olympic tickets through victory and points." Zhang Jun said, "I also encourage younger players to be pioneers to exercise themselves, gain more competition experience, and bravely challenge internationally top-ranked players."

　　Unity and confidence, aiming straight for Tokyo

　　Some people say that the current national badminton team is very similar to the national badminton team in the early 1990s. At that time, the team also faced the pain of a generation gap. After Li Yongbo took charge of the national badminton team in 1993, he began to cultivate new players. Although the Hiroshima Asian Games the following year yielded 7 bronze medals, the lowest point in the Asian Games, and the women's team lost the Uber Cup that they had held for 10 years, the national badminton team defeated the then-dominant Indonesian team in 1995, winning the Sudirman Cup for the first time in history, and then won the first Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with the women's doubles, and in 1997, not only defended the Sudirman Cup but also won 3 gold medals at the World Championships, thus announcing their return to the peak of world badminton.

　　People hope that the "dual core" of Zhang Jun and Xia Xuanze can lead the national badminton team into that era of rising from the trough to the peak, and fight a beautiful comeback battle at the Tokyo Olympics. In fact, Zhang Jun has been cheering for the team. "Our goal for the Tokyo Olympics is to win 5 gold medals. The Chinese team is competitive in all 5 events, and we have young players participating in each event. I hope that the Chinese badminton team will show that momentum in Tokyo, that is, to dare to show their swords, dare to fight, and dare to fight for the gold medal in each event."

　　Of course, how many gold medals the Tokyo Olympics will eventually win depends on the players' on-site performance and the opponents' performance. As for who will play, Zhang Jun encourages young people to compete for Olympic tickets themselves. With Lin Dan gradually aging and Chen Long's fluctuating state, rising stars such as Shi Yuqi have become the main training targets of the national badminton team. As a member of the coaching staff, Zhang Jun said that he will create a fair competition environment for every player, help every player adjust their mental state, and grow as quickly as possible.

　　After the national badminton team implemented the flat management of dual head coaches, there is more communication between singles and doubles players, and there are more opportunities for joint training during normal training. Zhang Jun believes that this management method makes the national badminton team more united and creates a particularly harmonious atmosphere. The current national badminton team is in a good state, "Everyone is very young, and they are very energetic. Every player wants to prove themselves on the court, and I think they are doing a good job in helping each other. In this Sudirman Cup, this united atmosphere and this collective strength are very well reflected."

　　Zhang Jun frankly admitted that it is difficult for the national badminton team to produce a superstar like Lin Dan again, but they will strive to cultivate a person who has the same influence on badminton as Lin Dan. "Behind every star athlete is definitely more than just athletic achievements." He said that in addition to the athletes' performance on the court, the overall strength of the team, market promotion, sponsor cooperation, and even the development of badminton as a whole determine whether a sports star can emerge. "We also hope that the next sports superstar will appear in the badminton world."

　　Promoting badminton association reform to make children happier

　　At the beginning of this year, Zhang Jun was elected as the chairman of the new Chinese Badminton Association. The first thing he has to face is the substantive reform of the association. Considering the need to break down the barriers between professional and amateur badminton in the future, the reform of the Chinese Badminton Association needs to be comprehensively designed and carried out in an orderly manner, focusing on key areas. In addition to dealing with the busy affairs of the national team, Zhang Jun devotes part of his energy to the association's work.

　　"Now that the team is well managed, I also need to see what's going on with the association, what's going on with the amateurs, what's going on with organizing competitions, and international exchanges..." Zhang Jun frankly admitted that among the many roles in his career, being the chairman of the association is the most stressful.

　　When I was an athlete, I thought athletes were so tired, playing every day was so tiring, and the coach was so comfortable. When I became a coach, I felt that the players could rest after playing, but as a coach, after watching A, I had to watch B, and after watching B, I had to watch C, it was so tiring. When I became the head coach, I felt that the original single-item person in charge was better. Before, I only managed men's doubles, but now I have to manage men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Before, I only needed to manage the team, but now that I am the chairman of the association, I also have to manage the association's affairs...

　　With different roles, I always find the previous role more comfortable.

　　Despite this, the fighting spirit of an athlete has not been lost in Zhang Jun. As the chairman of the Badminton Association, he is committed to narrowing the gap between professional and amateur badminton, benefiting badminton enthusiasts nationwide, especially accelerating the promotion of badminton into schools. He hopes to cooperate closely with the education department, integrating the resources and advantages of both sides to widely promote badminton in primary and secondary schools nationwide, and reserve strength for the national badminton talent training program.

　　I think if children can play more badminton, they will be very happy. So, we should let more children have a sense of happiness and well-being.