Yang Yang (Chinese: 杨阳) (born December 9, 1963 in Nanjing, Jiangsu) is a former Chinese badminton player.

He is one of the two badminton players in the world to have won two World Badminton Championships men's singles titles consecutively, the other being Lin Dan. He also won the gold medal in badminton as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in men's singles.

He possessed high agility, quick footwork, accurate power, and coolness under pressure, and is widely regarded as one of the finest singles players in the history of the sport.

Career

Early career

Yang began training in 1975, when he was 12 years old, in Physical Education Colleigate for Youth. He was recruited by the Chinese national team in 1983.

Professional career

He won his first Chinese national championship title in 1984. In 1985, he won the Hong Kong Open by defeating Morten Frost. In 1986, he won the Japan Open and the Hong Kong Open, and also helped China to retake the Thomas Cup (world team championship) from Indonesia by winning key matches. In the late 80s he dominated international singles play by winning the World Championships (1987, 1989) and various international tournaments. In 1988, he won the Olympic Gold as an exhibition event in Seoul.

China's Golden Generation

As a member of China's golden badminton generation of the 1980s which included the almost equally brilliant singles stars Zhao Jianhua and Xiong Guobao, Yang Yang played an important role in making China a major world badminton superpower. His play was instrumental in China's consecutive Thomas Cup (men's world team) titles in 1986, 1988, and 1990. Players of his generation set the foundation for the current Chinese world badminton players.

Retirement

In 1991, he retired as a player and started coaching in Malaysia. In the very next year, he guided Malaysia to its first Thomas Cup victory in 25 years. He then stayed in Malaysia to develop his business for badminton equipment for many years. He returned to China in year 2000, and opened a badminton club named after himself in Nanjing.

Major achievements

Rank	Event	Date	Venue
World Championships
1	Singles	1987	Beijng, CHN
1	Singles	1989	Jakarta, INA
3	Singles	1985	Calgary, CAN
Thomas Cup
1	Team	1986	Jakarta, INA
1	Team	1988	Kuala Lumpur, MAS
1	Team	1990	Tokyo, JPN
World Cup
1	Singles	1988	THA
1	Singles	1989	CHN
International Opens
1	Singles	1985, 1986	Hong Kong Open
1	Singles	1986	World Grand Prix finals
1	Singles	1986, 1990	Japan Open
1	Singles	1987	Swedish Open
1	Singles	1987	Malaysia Open
1	Singles	1987	Indonesia Open
1	Singles	1988	Singapore Open
1	Singles	1989	All England Open

Sources

• Badmintoncn.com: Yang Yang
• 羽壇“王中王”回歸故鄉續寫傳奇