Zhang Ning - The TOUGHEST Road to Double Olympic Glory

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Did this story inspire you?

[@scollege8771]

Hi Ben, this was one of the best documentary on a badminton ( if not any sport) i have ever seen. Kudos and all the best for your future videos. Hope with your videos Badminton gets even more coverage and popularity. ps: Please Cover story of Saina Nehwal

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

@scollege8771 thank you so much for your kind words. I might have to do a video in Saina as her influence on Indian badminton is humungous

[@saichaitanya4735]

@@BenBeckmanBadminton Yes, please!!

[@pratik3988]

​@@BenBeckmanBadmintonbrother u won our hearts❤🤝 just dnt quit one of best documentary on badminton sportspersons i hve seen👍 wat a fighter she was at her career... Dnt stop keep bringing new video will be loved by all over people😊🙏🤝

[@yashkumarsinghal53]

Yesssss 😭😭😭😭😭

[@dav.e8557]

Never Give Up! Awsome & Inspiring Success Story of Zhang Ning, one of the most Talented Badminton Player in the World!

[@jasonxiao2456]

She is remarkable. Most of people didn't believe she could come back.

[@sarth7649]

This is one of most amazing badminton stories! Thank you Ben for bringing it to us! ps: Hearing Oma Gill’s voice absolutely enhances the feel of any match! Along with Crowd at Istora, Gill Clark is definitely the voice of badminton!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

I completely agree. Can't believe she's been commentating for pretty much 30 years. Although in that Uber Cup final you can barely hear her 🤣

[@magnumcyclonex]

This is good stuff! Really appreciate setting up the scenario in the beginning. Zhang Ning's story is truly fascinating and all the time and work put into this is very much appreciated! I think a particularly interesting story you might be able to cover down the road is the one of 2022 Badminton Hall of Famer Zhao Yunlei, whose remarkable career was intertwined with both her personal and professional events.

[@katjejoek]

Nice documentary! Years ago I watched another documentary on her: “the road to Beijing” in which she actively participates and goes back to old places. You also see that her coach Lee Young Bo (former champion in men’s doubles) does believe in her which helps her mentally enormously. You can see Zhang running straight to him after winning the olympic medal. That’s because of what he meant to her. She is truly a remarkable woman.

[@zhuangcorp]

I remember seeing her first as a young teenager and instantly having a crush on her beauty and gracefulness. But when she was at her top, she was also one of the greatest players of all time.

[@Orion-mi4eu]

This is too good. I always taken zhang ning as a boring player, doing the bread and butter stuff but nothing too exciting. After listening to her story, i have nothing but respect for her now.

[@theswiftscuttler7211]

Both the story and the player herself are absolutely amazing!

[@jonahlam]

Thank you Ben for the 23 min video summarizing Zhang Ning's career. Got quite emotional in watching her story..

[@jonahlam]

btw, I saw it from a CN version/alternative of YTB. YTD doesn't seem to allow me post the link here, but there are more views and likes than here

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

@@jonahlam are you saying my video been uploaded somewhere else? Or is it a different video on same subject

[@jonahlam]

@@BenBeckmanBadminton This video was re-posted to the CN alternative platform without any editing. It is probably not monetized since the video was selected as a re-post not a original production video during uploading. And the uploader does give the link to your video in comment section and asks people to support your channel. In CN, YTB is blocked and requires a VPN to access, so some people select and re-post YTB videos that they like for viewers in CN. If that re-post person can have your authorization in changing from re-post to original production, there can be income. But that income will be generated in CN and can be quite difficult to transfer to other countries. Many YTbers I'm following who have channels on that CN platform use the platform just to generate enough income for the translator team in CN... Excuse me for the the complicated explanation

[@jonahlam]

@@BenBeckmanBadminton in my opinion, your videos so far all come with high quality. But whether it is worth spending extra effort managing an additional platform and whether that platform should generate profit is up to you

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

@jonahlam thanks for explaining mate. I appreciate these channels sharing and spreading the video and linking my original to it. I haven't even begun to think of monetising yet but it is something I'll look into for sure. So doing it across multiple platforms is something I've definitely not thought about. Will need help with that for sure. May I ask how well the videos has done on CN?

[@dianliu2109]

What a good story! Thanks for making and sharing such a high quality video. As a Chinese badminton lover, I always wondered Zhang Ning's story, but didn't digged it as thorough as you are.

[@ThuNguyen-bq8vy]

I dug up as much info as I could about Zhang Ning but there was little. Thanks for the tribute. You must have put a lot of work into it. Keep up the good work!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

I'll keep doing my best 🙂

[@domenicoabdulmadjid]

The Indonesian crowd were disrespected towards ZN .. So Glad She did the most greatest Job in Badminton History ... ❤ 2 Gold Medal were the BEST OF ALL TIME SHE EVER REACHERD 🎉

[@babytyan]

Thank you for this Awesome video - Story of Zhang Ning. One of the most inspirational stories of a great player who never gave up her self-belief and her dreams for herself and country. She is truly a great example for those striving for resilience and pure determination despite failing and falling many times in her long Badminton journey at the highest level. Most would have retired and given up...but not this lady made of steel! I've seen her play in her hey days in Singapore Open and was mesmerised totally ! This I was not surprised she was picked for the Singles event in the 2008 Beijing Olympics...despite being the oldest player! And winning the GOLD medal, her 2nd and consecutive one, making history! Salute !!!❤🤩

[@parixitbhinde]

wow! what a great player! the iron lady of badminton! thanks for bringing out her inspiring story in such a glorious way 🙏

[@reinartes7079]

Some fun facts about Zhang Ning is there is no WS player above 25 years old that has won the Olympics and the World Championship. So she is not only the oldest winner, she is older by a large margin compared to the rest. She is from Liaoning, and there is another curious case of WS player by the surname Zhang that was born in Liaoning who recently made a comeback by winning a World Tour title at the age of 33 - Zhang Beiwen. Maybe it's genetic with the people born there that the older they get, they stronger they are. 😂

[@natureboy7571]

Carolina Marin could be the one :)

[@reinartes7079]

@@natureboy7571 If Marin won this year WC, then she will be the oldest WC winner in WS. However, she won't be the oldest Olympics winner if she won Paris. She would need to win in LA if she wants to beat ZN record as the oldest winner. 😆

[@ambhat3953]

@@reinartes7079 and Marin didn't win WC in this year

[@adityamane6325]

What a documentary ❤ and what a story ❤. Thank you Ben

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you. Glad you liked it

[@kd-qn9dj]

very touching and inspiring story widely regarded as queen of badminton for the above achievements

[@edywidjaya301]

Thank you for great story, Ben. What an inspiration story about Zhang Ning. She is absolutely being great inpiration for sport world !! ❤❤

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

😊🙌🏻 it really is

[@LiGuo-dr2cd]

I have a lot of respect for this lady. As a badminton fan and play badminton at club level, I watch her long career up and down, but she never gave up, and brought surprise after surprise. Her story inspired a lot of young players around the world. Wish her all good luck for whatever she is doing right now.

[@ronaldpang5092]

You are right on point again my friend! Such a graceful player and definitely deserving of those accolades. You need to shed some light on those lesser players as well.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Will do! I will look into some of the smaller players too. There's a tonne of amazing stories to unearth and bring to you all

[@hugocastro8908]

It is incredible to finally find quality badminton content like yours

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

😊🙌🏻

[@hoangtuannguyenkhac77]

Phenomenal work again ben, im glad there are more spotlight for older generation players and women too. Hats off to you sir

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you, appreciate it 🙏🏻

[@saichaitanya4735]

Thank you so much Ben for such an in-depth story!! Keep them coming!! Much love!!❤❤

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Plenty more to come

[@dread3006]

i love these player documentaries and i think its a really nice unfilled niche for badminton and you should continue these types of badminton documentaries.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Definitely continuing

[@Phiz787]

This is such an excellent journey! Thanks for taking us along!

[@fangexploring]

What an inspiration, she's a beacon of hope for struggling players/people everywhere. What was the difference that propelled her to the world championship and beyond? Was it all mental or did she improve something that gave her an edge over the competition? When did the scoring system change from 11 to 21? I haven't watched badminton for more than 20 years until this year, thank you very much for these documentaries.

[@annylim1507]

What an epic journey! I'm not a big fan of Chinese team or players but Zhang Nin's story is definitely one that worth to share. I imagine if she had decided to retire early, she would have kept life-long regrets. I'm so glad that she concluded her professional career in a very high note. And kudos to you Ben for mqking this remarkable video. I'm always looking forward to your next ones!😊

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you. It really is a fantastic story

[@theresiahutauruk8460]

What a story!!! Crazyyy amazing... Zhang Nin.

[@Racketflash]

Thanks Ben for this inspiring story

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

You're very welcome

[@khatibulumam4072]

Incredibly insipiring🎉, thank you for bringing this up🎉

[@rinsamara278]

Inspiring story, jaw dropping resilience and sort of a fairy tale outcome! She must have loved that game so much that she could not just walk off when times were hard and others had given up on her! Her passion got her going and once all things came together she could harvest her well deserved fruit!

[@feiy2827]

Thanks for making this video. Zhang Ning is my favorite female badminton player, but I can not quite find a lot her full game videos here, especially with HD quality. If you can upload some, it would be great!

[@AkashDTV]

Love the consistent uploads Ben!!!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Will do my best to keep them coming

[@Tompsf1]

Best content on KZbin, right here with Ben. 🎉 bravo for the most insightful, wonderful storytelling I’ve ever seen and heard. You, sir, are doing the Lord’s work.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you so much, you're too kind. I was pretty happy with this story I won't lie haha

[@kage7772]

Hey Ben, as a passionate badminton player, I really appreciate your story telling skills and the ability to highlight so much insight into the history of some of the players - particularly those who may have been overlooked. Wouldn't it be amazing if you had the opportunity to interview these amazing players and have an audience with them to showcase your journalistic skills? I do hope that one day you can connect with them, help them see what amazing achievements they've all made to the game. Don't stop. Really like how you've added all your references, links, and other context to your videos. 10/10 quality.

[@chengsweelim2765]

Excellent story

[@Timmyjg2004]

Unbelievable start to your channel! ❤🎉

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thanks

[@Dasen_Zhou]

Thank you for sharing Zhang Ning’s story😁

[@yypan-kl7ig]

Thank you! This is a really inspiring story!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

You're so welcome!

[@tckchannel4435]

She has a crazy fighting spirit to be able to be champions in the world's biggest tournaments at a very old age...Amazing! 😲😲😲😲😲

[@Chemophile777]

Thank you so much Ben for sharing this. Most of the time we see people's achievement and we never know what they have gone through and this story tells me that better days are ahead you just need to be there and keep going 🤩🤩💥💥

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

You're very welcome. It is a great story

[@JoshAwang]

Mate, this is long time coming... thank you for all the hard and heart work to bring all these to memory and more...Badminton is such a Uber-athletic game where the top players are almost gymnasts, kung-fu masters and Spiderman combined in order to take those 400km/h smashes, change directions at a moment's notice at neck-breaking speeds and yet make it all look so graceful and easy, defying gravity and the laws of physics ever so often

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Appreciate the kind words dude. You're spot on badminton gets overlooked and looked down upon too much

[@pckho92]

I remember 2004 uber final where she beat Seo with remarkable score. Even though she far older, her stamina and play full of energy.

[@nfreddyyy]

Absolutely amazing!

[@newkid7]

Imagine if she retired at the age of 27, none of these big achievement would've happened, her Indonesian opponent Mia might've become the Olympic champion. Sometimes you need to hold up a little longer, but no one knows, destiny is interesting.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

It's crazy I know

[@xxXgOODgAMEXxx]

really well done, thank you for documenting this, it made me tear up a little

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

I did my job then 😊

[@zlhhj7047]

Your video is excellent, hope you can update more such high-quality badminton commentary videos👍👍

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

That's the plan 👌🏻😊

[@soyanchd5439]

Once again, amazing job! 🔥

[@minhhotu2351]

big thanks to you for bringing this story to us. Love from Vietnam

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

you're welcome

[@DLeong1]

Fair play to you... that took a lot of research. I only knew of her as s former top player and also as a coach for the ladies singles team but I would never have known of her story. Thank you.

[@MisterJermaine]

Here before you’re famous. Keep up the amazing production quality brother

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thanks mate, appreciate it

[@Arengohjinghao]

Hey ben, great story telling. Really enjoyed this one, cheers!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ReeceP12]

loving the videos ben! Your doing wonders for the sport!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you

[@sidharthchandla7966]

Very beautifully narrated and inspiring too!

[@kevinmeng5231]

Hi Ben, love your new longer videos! They reallyl do justice to the great stories you are telling. Why did you make the switch from short videos to long videos though? Really liked your 2-5 minute videos you uploaded previously. Are you still going to be making those?

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you Kevin, appreciate the kind words. I am still making the shorter videos but they are for the BWF. These longer videos are just for my KZbin channel. KZbin is a much better platform for these longer, more in depth videos. Already looking into the next video 💪🏻👍🏻

[@josuecamargo]

This did inspire me and you did do justice! Thanks Ben :)

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

😊🙌🏻

[@chowder607]

great video! We need more breakdown videos and storytelling with badminton!

[@mdmmadhatter]

Very inspirational...ty for sharing the BTS stories.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

You're welcome

[@rdvictorious]

Mind-blowing video! 🎥 Your storytelling skills are incredible. I'd be over the moon if you could delve into the captivating journey of Park Joo Bong, unraveling how he ascended to helm the Japanese Team. And while you're at it, exploring the enigmatic tale of Li Yong Bo, the legendary Chinese coach, would be an absolute delight. Your ability to bring these stories to life keeps me glued to know more the history of badminton legends. Can't wait for your next one! 🏸

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thanks ever so much for your kind words. I'll do my best to dig into those 2 absolute legends!

[@wewung2]

amazing story. been following badminton for some time but never knew the backstory of her amazing journey! well done! How about Foo Kok Keong for the next one?

[@lucashamilton151]

Love your video, but you missed the one thing that makes me admire her the most. It was in late-2007 Zhang Ning got an injury on her right leg which caused her poor results in early 2008 and her absence at the Uber Cup. Yet she won her 2nd Olympic gold medals with a cast on her knee and bandages on her leg. None can be more inspirational than Zhang Ning.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thanks for that additional info. Makes the story even more remarkable 😊🙌🏻

[@manojkumar3491]

You are great at storytelling!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you

[@mikenkaye3323]

Amazing!

[@z_a_c_]

Always quality productions Ben :) Inspiring the next generation of badminton players/viewers with your top notch research & editing. Keep up the great work , your consistency makes this an easy subscribe !

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you so much. I'll work hard to keep a consistent upload schedule. But never sacrifice quality for jt

[@maohonghan7857]

wow what a story. great video subbed!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you! Super glad you enjoyed the video

[@maohonghan7857]

@@BenBeckmanBadminton cheers love from china road to 10k subs!

[@mevolutionnz]

Love this story Thank you!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@feifferchen4889]

Amazing woman, amazing player

[@moonlightataraxia8638]

Great video! Love to hear more stories about past badminton figures. If there is anything to improve is the quality of mic.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Glad u liked it and thanks for the feedback

[@sain730]

Amazing story! Thanks!!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Very welcome 🙏🏻

[@richardwan4206]

Fantastic video. Thank you so much. It should be made into a film - I can just see it being a bit like 'Leap' which was a biopic of Lang Ping (iron Hammer).

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Glad u enjoyed it mate. It would make a great movie for sure

[@nietonghe]

Love the editing! Ben putting out another banger again🔥

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

😊✌🏻

[@rcab673]

Cold content as always great video

[@nomad.wedding]

Ben you are flipping amazing at story telling.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Thank you 😊

[@ttinc2067]

👍 A great job!

[@gokulkrishna1319]

Fantastic story

[@leongratrol1785]

很喜欢你的频道，加油！

[@thefeatherdiaries]

We need daily dose of Quality content from Ben.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Daily?! That would be insane. I'll keep uploading as quickly as I can. These videos take time

[@nomad.wedding]

@@BenBeckmanBadmintonquality over quantity please! Just at your own pace! I’ll be happy whenever you upload them 😅 Maybe in between major tournaments when nothing is happening on KZbin 👀

[@Mrupsccse2024]

it just made me emtional

[@badmashdogesh3939]

Greatest women's single badminton player in history..

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

🙌🏻

[@bharaths1772]

As ever... Master Storyteller BBB 👌🏻

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

😊🙌🏻

[@samuelboonkhenglee8374]

Solid analysis ❤

[@gooddayson]

Great Video again ! ! ! keep it up

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Will do 🙌🏻

[@badmintoniac]

great documentary!

[@theaolivia6989]

I love to hear story about Hendra Setiawan, he is one of my idol... i know his not retired yet. But Top 5 in the age of 39 and still play one of the best badminton just inspiring

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

That's a story I'm either gonna tell soon or wait for his retirement as who knows...he might make even more history in his final year

[@badminton4life63]

Please make a story about Ngyuen from vietnam. Amazing rally player. Make a video of gos playing style and mindset. Can you Ben. You are the best to do it. Nobody don't know him. He deserves more

[@lauralee1961]

Did not expect Zhang Ning's career journey to be so full of struggles that it is very interesting to know. If you don't mind, are you willing to tell about the career journey of the late Markis Kido? Thanks in advance Ben🙌🏻

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

I'd love to tell that story. Markis Kido is a legend and I have a few fond memories of watching him play

[@lauralee1961]

@@BenBeckmanBadmintonYess pls! As a soon as possible😊

[@jasonxiao2456]

Ben, can you do a story about Ge Fei and Gu Jun? Why were they so dominant in women doubles? I haven't watched many their games.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

I will most certainly do that. Not only dominant but they also achieved something incredibly unique as well as having an almost perfect record for 4 years

[@ChangRunFu]

why the view counts is so low especially for such a good video😢nice job!

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Let's give it time...hopefully it can grow 😊🙌🏻

[@SuttonFox]

Hello Ben, thanks for the great story. Can you do one about Taufik?

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Definitely

[@BoldSportPredictions]

Would love to hear the story of Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach and how it culminated in that 2005 WC.

[@BenBeckmanBadminton]

Oh damn...great story. Even just telling the story of their route at the championships would be epic

[@LovingAllll]

Zhang Ning in her era and Pusarla V Sindhu in today's era are two WS players who I feel are only examples in WS department two have won consecutive major Olympic Medals...I mean 5 WC Medals and 2 Consecutive Olympic Medals must be soo hard. Now Zhang obviously has 2 Olympic Golds whereas Pusarla has a silver and bronze but its soo hard to imagine how hard these players must work to be this consistent at biggest stage.

[@aniketverma2775]

Greatest ws player

[@V_for_Vendetta_]

I know that the old scoring system is broken. But having your opponent score 0 is just totally a master class. Like, damn!

[@argura9833]

A documentary only base on the outside source, what was reported by western news. At the time, before all other countries improved, China's team, especially the women, dominance the world anyone of them could be the world champion. Zhang was top level for sure, but her staying in national team because of coach, he was from the same place. Also, when Chinese player play against each other, they always settle in two games at that time because coach already decided who go on.

[@siahboonpeng]

Definitely

[@bolangongoh]

Please make video about Ricky/Rexy, the strongest men's doubles in their prime 😊

[@andrewcannon587]

zhang ning is a late bloomer. Years of flat line performance and learning finally pay off. Where as taufik and mia audina are naturally born talent but didn't go much further learning. Both taufik and audina are very talent for their young age. Mia emigrated to holland with his husband and didn't really continue with badminton seriously. She was overweight going into 2004 olympic. China coach yi yong bo kept ZN around because she was tall and doesn't talk back, hence had good relationship with LYB. What's not well know in 2004 olympic, zhou mi was told to lose to ZN in the semi, so ZN, china, LYB can have a fairy tale ending story. At the 2008 olympic, the final ZN vs XXF was a tight race, ZN's decades of experience help her win the 2008 OG WS title. Same can be said about lee chong wei, a late bloomer too plus under the shadow of lin dan.

[@leolabustro8531]

❤️

[@capimsi7]

Example of the indomitable human spirit