Brilliant. It's surprising how we haven't seen any coverage about a pair this dominant before (arguably GOAT-level by a mile). Thank you Ben for doing outstanding work and telling this story. We badminton fans truly appreciate it.
They have a solid system with good funding, and excellent coaches. With years of excellence it means they have not only a wealth of knowledge but can attract the best athletes to the sport. Success breeds success as they say, China is a shining example of that
Ben's background as a top flight player himself lends great insight and perspective to these videos as well as knowledge (both personal and professional). It's so easy for these amazing players of the past to be memory holed into history and we can grow to forget the astounding qualities they brought to the sport. Badminton, for a sport which such a long history, has a relatively short Olympic story as it only became a "demonstration sport" at the 1972 event before being adopted as a full Olympic sport from 1992 Barcelona forward. All comfortably within my lifetime, which serves only to demonstrate how monumentally old I am!
Bravo! Thank you Ben for this wonderful documentary, it's so well structured and interesting. I can't imagine how many hours you dedicated to this, how many matches you had to watch, Salute! Those are blood boiling jaw dropping stats! I thought Chen QingChen and Jia Yifan almost good enough to be the GOAT, now I realize it's impossible. And Chen and Jia also have different personalities as Ge and Gu, they said they wouldn't be friends if not for badminton, interesting!
Ge Fei & Gu Jun were part of youngsters that help to revive China’s glory. From 1992 they suffered sharp declines in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, a little bit less in women’s doubles. The 1995 Sudirman Cup observed Chinese young guns shocked the world by defeating top players and won the 1st title for their country. Sun Jun (19) & Ye Zhaoying (21) then started to conquer the world as Ge Fei (19) and Gu Jun (20) began their domination.
China has previously dominated WD for years. They have so many pairs in Top 5. Some players play like men. Now WD is slightly more open. FanChen seem to dominate today too.
Amazing video. I feel like women doubles in the least spoken about discipline in Badminton ( I might be wrong). So its so nice to see content creators like you make such well researched videos about it.
You aren't wrong, women's doubles is the least talked about discipline in badminton. I'll always try to do videos on all of badminton, from all disciplines to players of all levels. Whatever I find interesting or tells a good story will make it into my channel 😀
Because the Chinese dominated the field all the time. It got more attention during Matsutomo/Takahashi’s era but then Chen/Jia returned to “invincible” mode. Now Baek/Lee is becoming the biggest threat, but who knows how long.
Fun fact: at the early 1996, the pair was on the verge of breaking up, as Ge Fei, an introvert, felt so annoyed by Gu Jun, who was so straightforward, was picking up on everything she did. Coach Tian Bingyi, not Li Yongbo, was the one who solved this problem. He talked to each of them personally, then together, and the girls were deeply touched. They started to understand each other more, and that I believe had marked the start of their domination.
Interesting. In the two articles I read with exerts from their interview Tian Bingyi wasn't mentioned (Li Yongbo was as to was "coach" maybe that was Tian) and there wasn't a mention of their arguments almost causing them to almost split. Thanks for the fun fact 😊
@@BenBeckmanBadminton It was mentioned a lot in Chinese newspaper. Here's from an article I read on Sohu: "...In life, Ge Fei is introverted and not good at speaking, while Gu Jun is lively and outgoing and talks a lot. Because of the big contrast in personality, the two are a perfect match on the court, but they rarely interact in life. Apart from training and competitions, Ge Fei and Gu Jun rarely played together, they did not live in the same dormitory, and neither had ever invited the other to dinner. Girls are more sensitive, and Ge Fei and Gu Jun would have some small conflicts during training. Before the 1996 All England Open Badminton Championships, Ge Fei found Tian Bingyi and said that Gu Jun liked to nag and she couldn't stand it, so she asked to break up. Tian Bingyi tried to persuade Ge Fei: Gu Jun is a straightforward person, don't take it to heart, she just wants to play well because she likes to nag. You and Ge Fei are the key players of the team, and she has paid a lot for you in every aspect, how can you just break up? Afterwards, Tian Bingyi also worked on Gu Jun: Ge Fei has a different personality from you, so you should pay attention to the way you speak in the future. Then, Tian Bingyi called Ge Fei and Gu Jun together and gave them a metaphor: A pair of excellent doubles players should have three legs, one of which is tied together, so that they can cooperate well. Now that you two have the strength to win the Olympic championship, you must cherish the opportunity to win glory for the country. How many chances can you have in life? Ge Fei and Gu Jun were deeply touched, and they never had any quarrels again after that. Whenever they had any ideas, they would bring them up in time for discussion..." Also, Tian Bingyi was the WD head coach at the time. So he would have to deal with such problems more directly than Li Yongbo.
@@lucashamilton151 so interesting. Finding Chinese articles and all that stuff is tricky for me. I'll do even more digging next time. Appreciate you making the comment... Super cool n interesting
@@BenBeckmanBadminton I strongly recommend that. There are so many touching stories that you would not regret reading. Especially for the question “How did they do it?” at the end of the video. So much more than just the rivalry.
Brilliant. It's surprising how we haven't seen any coverage about a pair this dominant before (arguably GOAT-level by a mile). Thank you Ben for doing outstanding work and telling this story. We badminton fans truly appreciate it.
Yeah this pair are a little forgotten, as too are many others from before the mid 2000s I'd say. I hope to change that and bring them into the light 🙌
This channel should be renamed - Badminton Archeology -- the depth, the digging of history, the quality is world class....keep doing your great work!!
Haha thanks! No stopping me, only getting started
Most underrated channel of all time , Great vid
I appreciate that 🤗
What a legends ❤️
Most definitely 💪🏻
still I am waiting for p.v.sindhuu
Ge Fei is also the wife of Coach Sun Jun
how come china so good in badminton? they also human but why they very strong and dominant?
They have a solid system with good funding, and excellent coaches. With years of excellence it means they have not only a wealth of knowledge but can attract the best athletes to the sport. Success breeds success as they say, China is a shining example of that
As much as im a huge supporter of Indonesian team back then, i couldnt deny Ge Fei and Gu Jun were both amazing and always interesting to watch.
Ben's background as a top flight player himself lends great insight and perspective to these videos as well as knowledge (both personal and professional). It's so easy for these amazing players of the past to be memory holed into history and we can grow to forget the astounding qualities they brought to the sport. Badminton, for a sport which such a long history, has a relatively short Olympic story as it only became a "demonstration sport" at the 1972 event before being adopted as a full Olympic sport from 1992 Barcelona forward. All comfortably within my lifetime, which serves only to demonstrate how monumentally old I am!
Thanks for your kind words. Badminton's Olympic story is quite an interesting one. I might be tackling it soon
Bravo! Thank you Ben for this wonderful documentary, it's so well structured and interesting. I can't imagine how many hours you dedicated to this, how many matches you had to watch, Salute! Those are blood boiling jaw dropping stats! I thought Chen QingChen and Jia Yifan almost good enough to be the GOAT, now I realize it's impossible. And Chen and Jia also have different personalities as Ge and Gu, they said they wouldn't be friends if not for badminton, interesting!
It must be the winning secret 😂 yeah it was a lot of reading and watching but always worth it for comments like yours 🙌
Back in the days, Cai Yun was my most favourite front court player.
Damm i wished there was a video about Cai Yun Fu Haifeng...they were ridiculous at their prime...extremely entertaining pair
I might just have to make one then
Ge Fei & Gu Jun were part of youngsters that help to revive China’s glory. From 1992 they suffered sharp declines in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, a little bit less in women’s doubles. The 1995 Sudirman Cup observed Chinese young guns shocked the world by defeating top players and won the 1st title for their country. Sun Jun (19) & Ye Zhaoying (21) then started to conquer the world as Ge Fei (19) and Gu Jun (20) began their domination.
Wow how can a singles or doubles player not lose a match in a year.
It was more common back then because of the fewer tournaments but still, incredibly impressive 😊
China has previously dominated WD for years. They have so many pairs in Top 5. Some players play like men. Now WD is slightly more open. FanChen seem to dominate today too.
The legend
Definitely
Inspiring badminton legacy. And lovin’ the vintage badminton look. ❤
A 98.24% win ratio is out of this world. Crazy stuff.
I know right?! Absolutely mental 🤯
Great video. Really grateful for you, sir. Letting us know about the history. Which would have been buried if you weren't there.
That's what I'm here for 😊
when i read about women double back then, I always thought "it's them again"
I'm sure you weren't alone 😂
Amazing career. Great work Ben, thanks for the video
It was outstanding. Imagine if they had decided to continue. At their age I think they had another Olympic cycle in them. Crazy
Amazing video. I feel like women doubles in the least spoken about discipline in Badminton ( I might be wrong). So its so nice to see content creators like you make such well researched videos about it.
You aren't wrong, women's doubles is the least talked about discipline in badminton. I'll always try to do videos on all of badminton, from all disciplines to players of all levels. Whatever I find interesting or tells a good story will make it into my channel 😀
Because the Chinese dominated the field all the time. It got more attention during Matsutomo/Takahashi’s era but then Chen/Jia returned to “invincible” mode. Now Baek/Lee is becoming the biggest threat, but who knows how long.
Wow thanks so much for this Ben!
More than welcome. My pleasure 😊
Fun fact: at the early 1996, the pair was on the verge of breaking up, as Ge Fei, an introvert, felt so annoyed by Gu Jun, who was so straightforward, was picking up on everything she did. Coach Tian Bingyi, not Li Yongbo, was the one who solved this problem. He talked to each of them personally, then together, and the girls were deeply touched. They started to understand each other more, and that I believe had marked the start of their domination.
Interesting. In the two articles I read with exerts from their interview Tian Bingyi wasn't mentioned (Li Yongbo was as to was "coach" maybe that was Tian) and there wasn't a mention of their arguments almost causing them to almost split. Thanks for the fun fact 😊
@@BenBeckmanBadminton It was mentioned a lot in Chinese newspaper. Here's from an article I read on Sohu:
"...In life, Ge Fei is introverted and not good at speaking, while Gu Jun is lively and outgoing and talks a lot. Because of the big contrast in personality, the two are a perfect match on the court, but they rarely interact in life.
Apart from training and competitions, Ge Fei and Gu Jun rarely played together, they did not live in the same dormitory, and neither had ever invited the other to dinner.
Girls are more sensitive, and Ge Fei and Gu Jun would have some small conflicts during training. Before the 1996 All England Open Badminton Championships, Ge Fei found Tian Bingyi and said that Gu Jun liked to nag and she couldn't stand it, so she asked to break up.
Tian Bingyi tried to persuade Ge Fei: Gu Jun is a straightforward person, don't take it to heart, she just wants to play well because she likes to nag. You and Ge Fei are the key players of the team, and she has paid a lot for you in every aspect, how can you just break up?
Afterwards, Tian Bingyi also worked on Gu Jun: Ge Fei has a different personality from you, so you should pay attention to the way you speak in the future.
Then, Tian Bingyi called Ge Fei and Gu Jun together and gave them a metaphor: A pair of excellent doubles players should have three legs, one of which is tied together, so that they can cooperate well. Now that you two have the strength to win the Olympic championship, you must cherish the opportunity to win glory for the country. How many chances can you have in life?
Ge Fei and Gu Jun were deeply touched, and they never had any quarrels again after that. Whenever they had any ideas, they would bring them up in time for discussion..."
Also, Tian Bingyi was the WD head coach at the time. So he would have to deal with such problems more directly than Li Yongbo.
@@lucashamilton151 so interesting. Finding Chinese articles and all that stuff is tricky for me. I'll do even more digging next time. Appreciate you making the comment... Super cool n interesting
@@BenBeckmanBadminton I strongly recommend that. There are so many touching stories that you would not regret reading. Especially for the question “How did they do it?” at the end of the video. So much more than just the rivalry.
Excellent
Thank you so much 😀
title doesn't make sense
Yeah have no idea how that happened. Corrected now though
@@BenBeckmanBadminton Great video though! Very rare to see such quality coverage of anything from more than a decade ago.
@@zahhym yeah I know, I managed to dig out some good sources 😎 glad u liked the video