Wang Yihan was born on 18 January 1988 and is a retired Chinese professional badminton player and former women's singles world champion and Olympic silver medalist.
31 Facts About Wang Yihan
Wang Yihan was selected for the junior team in 2004, and after being promoted to the senior team in 2006, she began to shine in major tournaments.
Wang Yihan was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Asian Junior Championships.
Wang Yihan was a quarterfinalist in the same year's World Junior Championships where she lost to Korean Ha Jung-eun.
Wang Yihan was the bronze medallist at the Asian Championships where she went down fighting against Olympic silver medallist Xie Xingfang in the semifinal.
Wang Yihan, seeded 4th at the World Championships, was upset by 11th seed, Germany's Juliane Schenk in the 2nd round in straight games.
Wang Yihan lost the final of 2009 against Tine Rasmussen in Denmark Super Series in a hard-fought match.
Wang Yihan was looking to defend her All England Open title but was beaten by Tine Rasmussen in a repeat final of the previous year's clash, in a very close match or 3 games.
Just like the previous year, Wang Yihan again lost early in the BWF World Championships, losing to Japanese Eriko Hirose in 2nd round.
Wang Yihan won her first title of the year by beating Liu Xin in the final of 2010 Denmark Super Series.
Wang Yihan then won 2nd consecutive title by winning the 2010 French Super Series event, against compatriot, Li Xuerui.
Wang Yihan won the gold medal in the 2011 Badminton Asia Championships by winning against Lu Lan.
Wang Yihan won the gold medal, beating Cheng Shao-chieh with a big win and continued the Chinese supremacy in the Women's single category.
Wang Yihan then won the Japan open title for the 3rd consecutive time, beating Juliane Schenk.
Wang Yihan lost to her teammate Wang Xin for the first time, in the 2011 Denmark Super Series Premier final failing to defend her title.
Wang Yihan again won over Wang Xin, and set her match against India's Saina Nehwal.
Wang Yihan failed to defend her Asian title with a defeat from the hands of Li Xuerui in the final, settling for the silver medal.
Wang Yihan won the 2012 China Masters Super Series by beating a familiar rival Jiang Yanjiao.
Wang Yihan became the Asian champion for the 2nd time, by mastering Li Xuerui, recovering from her after 5 consecutive losses in the previous year.
Wang Yihan again defeated Li Xuerui, this time in the final of the 2013 Singapore Super Series.
Wang Yihan won the 2013 Denmark Super Series Premier in a very difficult encounter of 3 games, standing victorious over Sung Ji-hyun.
Wang Yihan was beaten in the Denmark Open final by Li Xuerui.
Wang Yihan finished the quarterfinalist in the World Championships after a gruelling contest with Saina Nehwal.
Wang Yihan then lost in the Korean open final, as Sung Ji-hyun registered an upsetting victory over Wang Yihan.
Wang Yihan was the runner up in the 2016 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold event, losing to young Chinese He Bingjiao in the final.
Wang Yihan won the Asian Championship title for the 3rd time, beating out Li Xuerui.
Wang Yihan then sailed through to the finals of 2016 Indonesia Super Series Premier, which included her 2nd consecutive victory over 2-time reigning World Champion, Carolina Marin in the semifinal.
Wang Yihan had a very illustrious career, winning thirty singles titles, including four Super Series Premier titles, fifteen Super Series titles, and one Super Series Finals title.
Wang Yihan's mother used to play badminton with her just outside their home.
Wang Yihan is good friends with teammates such as Li Xuerui, Tian Qing, Fu Haifeng, Lin Dan among others.
On 26 October 2019, Wang Yihan announced her marriage to Gu Zhengyun, a former member of the Shanghai badminton team.