Han Aiping
韩爱萍
Personal information
CountryChina
Born(1962-04-22)22 April 1962
Wuhan, China
Died16 October 2019(2019-10-16) (aged 57)
Wuhan, China
HandednessRight
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  China
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1979 Hangzhou Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 1979 Hangzhou Women's team
Gold medal – first place 1985 Calgary Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 1985 Calgary Women's doubles
Gold medal – first place 1987 Beijing Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 1983 Copenhagen Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 1987 Beijing Women's doubles
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1983 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 1983 Kuala Lumpur Women's doubles
Gold medal – first place 1986 Jakarta Women's doubles
Gold medal – first place 1987 Kuala Lumpur Women's doubles
Gold medal – first place 1988 Bangkok Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 1984 Jakarta Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 1986 Jakarta Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 1987 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 1989 Guangzhou Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 1985 Jakarta Women's doubles
Sudirman Cup
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Jakarta Mixed team
Uber Cup
Gold medal – first place 1984 Kuala Lumpur Women's team
Gold medal – first place 1986 Jakarta Women's team
Gold medal – first place 1988 Kuala Lumpur Women's team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1986 Seoul Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 1986 Seoul Women's team

Han Aiping (Chinese: 韩爱萍; April 22, 1962 – October 16, 2019) was a Chinese badminton player in the 1980s who ranks among the greats of the woman's game. Noted for her superb overhead strokes, she and her teammate, rival, and sometimes doubles partner Li Lingwei dominated international singles play for most of the decade, each winning the IBF World Championships twice, and led Chinese teams to victory in Uber Cup (women's world team) competitions.

Career

Early career

Han Aiping began her badminton training at the age of 10 in the Wuhan Amateur Sports School. As a highly talented 12-year-old she joined the Hubei provincial team in 1974. In 1977 she finished second at the Chinese national championships and joined the National Chinese team at the age of 16 the following year. In the late 1970s, before China was admitted to the International Badminton Federation (now the Badminton World Federation), it promoted a rival organization, the World Badminton Federation which held its own version of a world championship in both 1978 and 1979. At just 17 Han won women's singles at the second of these. However, her meteoric rise was interrupted by health problems, and after being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 1980, on medical orders she was forced out of competition for two years. Resuming her badminton training late in 1982, she finished second at the next Chinese National Badminton Championships to another rising young star Li Lingwei. With China having been admitted to the IBF in 1981 Han and her teammates could now compete in all the major world events. In 1983 she won singles at the Japan Open and singles and women's doubles at the Badminton World Cup. At the 1983 World Championships Han defeated her top seeded compatriot Zhang Ailing in the semifinals but was defeated by an increasingly familiar opponent, Li Lingwei, in the finals.[1]

Later career and rivalry with Li Lingwei

Han Aiping and her compatriot Li Lingwei repeatedly faced each other in the singles finals of major international tournaments from 1983 through 1988. Li maintained a won/lost edge in this rivalry, and in three successive winning Uber Cup competitions (1984, 1986, and 1988) played first singles for China ahead of Han at second singles. However, when they faced each other in badminton's most prestigious events, Han was arguably very much Li's equal. For example, Han lost the final of the 1983 World Championship to Li, but defeated Li in their next World Championship showdown in 1987, after having won the previous 1985 World Championship when Li had suffered a rare semifinal defeat. They exchanged victories in two consecutive finals at the venerable All England Championships, badminton's oldest event, with Li winning in 1984, and Han winning in 1985, and also at the China Open which Han won in 1986 and Li won in 1987. Han also won their only meeting at the quadrennial Asian Games in 1986. Throughout their rivalry they remained good friends and were often successful women's doubles partners at a time when, increasingly, elite singles players no longer entered doubles and elite doubles players no longer entered singles. In 1985 they captured women's doubles titles at both the All Englands and World Championships. They won three women's doubles titles together at the now defunct Badminton World Cup in 1983, 1986, and 1987. At the 1987 World Championships where Han won her second consecutive world singles title, she and Li had to settle for silver in women's doubles, losing to their compatriots Lin Ying and Guan Weizhen in the finals.[2]

By 1988 new young stars were emerging from China as well as from South Korea and Indonesia to challenge the Li/Han hegemony. In the exhibition tournament held at the 1988 Seoul Olympics which Li Lingwei did not contest, Han was upset in a close final by South Korea's Hwang Hye-Young. Though she won a number of events in her last two seasons of international play, occasionally Han was beaten by someone other than Li. In particular, China was relying on two young women, Tang Jiuhong and Huang Hua to take over for proven great players who were perhaps wearying of the training and tournament grind. In mid 1989 Han decided to end her playing career.

Personal life

After leaving the National Chinese badminton team Han and her husband Guo Ming went to Australia to study in March 1990. In April she was invited to give lectures in Japan's Olympic Intensification Program and then taught at the Suntory Badminton Club in Japan. In June 1994 she was reunited with her husband in Australia and cooperated with the local badminton club to train the team members to participate in the competition on behalf of the club. At the end of November 2002 she returned to China to serve as the head coach and head of the teaching and research team of the Hubei Badminton Women's Team. Dongfanghong Primary School, Qiaokou District, Wuhan City, established a badminton school named after her and officially unveiled this in September 2005. In 2013, she was elected at the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Han Aiping and her husband Guo Ming had two daughters. They traveled to Japan and Australia with the children before returning to Wuhan, Hubei, to settle in 2002. Later, in order to better re-engage their daughters in the English language they sent them to Singapore. The elder daughter, Guo Yushan, conducted badminton training at a local club, while the second daughter, Han Yalu, went into tennis training.

Death

Han was inducted into the Badminton Hall of Fame in 1998. She died on 16 October 2019 due to lung cancer at the age of 57.[3]

Achievements

Olympic Games (exhibition)

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1988 Seoul National University Gymnasium,
Seoul, South Korea		 South Korea Hwang Hye-young 11–1, 8–11, 6–11 Silver

World Championships

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1987 Capital Indoor Stadium, Beijing, China China Li Lingwei 10–12, 11–4, 11–7 Gold Gold
1985 Olympic Saddledome, Calgary, Canada China Wu Jianqiu 6–11, 12–11, 11–2 Gold Gold
1983 Brøndbyhallen, Copenhagen, Denmark China Li Lingwei 8–11, 11–6, 7–11 Silver Silver
1979 Hangzhou, China China Fu Chun-e 9–11, 11–0, 11–4 Gold Gold

Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1987 Capital Indoor Stadium, Beijing, China China Li Lingwei China Guan Weizhen
China Lin Ying		 7–15, 8–15 Silver Silver
1985 Olympic Saddledome, Calgary, Canada China Li Lingwei China Lin Ying
China Wu Dixi		 15–9, 14–18, 15–9 Gold Gold

World Cup

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1989 Guangzhou Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China Indonesia Susi Susanti 5–11, 4–11 Silver Silver
1988 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand China Li Lingwei 5–11, 11–6, 11–0 Gold Gold
1987 Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia China Li Lingwei 8–11, 8–11 Silver Silver
1986 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia China Li Lingwei 8–11, 3–11 Silver Silver
1984 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia China Li Lingwei 12–10, 4–11, 7–11 Silver Silver
1983 Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia China Zhang Ailing 6–11, 11–5, 11–4 Gold Gold

Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1987 Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia China Li Lingwei China Guan Weizhen
China Lin Ying		 15–10, 11–15, 15–5 Gold Gold
1986 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia China Li Lingwei Indonesia Imelda Wiguno
Indonesia Rosiana Tendean		 15–7, 15–7 Gold Gold
1985 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia China Li Lingwei South Korea Kim Yun-ja
South Korea Yoo Sang-hee		 11–15, 15–11, 3–15 Bronze Bronze
1983 Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia China Li Lingwei China Wu Jianqiu
China Xu Rong		 6–15, 15–8, 15–5 Gold Gold

Asian Games

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1986 Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul, South Korea China Li Lingwei 11–6, 11–9 Gold Gold

IBF Grand Prix (21 titles, 17 runners-up)

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1983 Japan Open Denmark Kirsten Larsen 11–2, 11–4 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1983 Grand Prix Finals China Li Lingwei 0–11, 11–4, 4–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1984 All England Open China Li Lingwei 5–11, 8–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1984 Scandinavian Cup China Wu Dixi 9–11, 11–2, 11–2 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1984 Grand Prix Finals Indonesia Ivana Lie 11–3, 11–2 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1985 Hong Kong Open China Zheng Yuli 11–6, 11–2 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1985 Indonesia Open China Li Lingwei 9–11, 8–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1985 All England Open China Li Lingwei 11–7, 12–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1985 Swedish Open China Li Lingwei 11–8, 8–11, 12–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1985 Grand Prix Finals China Li Lingwei 3–11, 3–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1986 Hong Kong Open China Li Lingwei 12–10, 8–11, 10–12 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1986 Japan Open China Li Lingwei 11–4, 9–12, 9–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Runner-up
1986 China Open China Li Lingwei 11–3, 11–6 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1986 Grand Prix Finals China Li Lingwei 5–11, 3–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1987 Hong Kong Open Denmark Kirsten Larsen 11–4, 11–8 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1987 Malaysian Open China Li Lingwei 3–11, 11–2, 9–12 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1987 Thailand Open China Luo Yun 11–3, 8–11, 1–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1987 China Open China Li Lingwei 11–6, 5–11, 10–12 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1987 Grand Prix Finals China Li Lingwei 8–11, 5–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1988 English Masters China Li Lingwei 11–4, 5–11, 9–12 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1988 Denmark Open China Li Lingwei 7–11, 7–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1988 Japan Open China Gu Jiaming 11–4, 11–5 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1988 Malaysian Open China Li Lingwei 11–7, 11–3 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1988 Swedish Open China Gu Jiaming 11–3, 11–1 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1988 German Open Denmark Kirsten Larsen 11–8, 11–9 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1988 Hong Kong Open South Korea Lee Young-suk 11–8, 1–11, 8–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1988 Grand Prix Finals South Korea Lee Young-suk 11–1, 11–5 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1989 Denmark Open China Tang Jiuhong 0–11, 1–11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1989 Malaysian Open China Luo Yun 6–11, 11–6, 11–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1989 Hong Kong Open China Zhou Lei 11–12, 11–7, 11–3 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1989 Grand Prix Finals China Tang Jiuhong 11–12, 10–12 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1985 Hong Kong Open China Xu Rong China Wu Dixi
China Lin Ying		 15–4, 15–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1985 Indonesian Open China Li Lingwei Indonesia Ivana Lie
Indonesia Rosiana Tendean		 15–7, 15–8 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1985 All England Open China Li Lingwei China Wu Dixi
China Lin Ying		 15–7, 15–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1985 Swedish Open China Li Lingwei China Wu Jianqiu
China Guan Weizhen		 15–12, 15–6 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1986 Hong Kong Open China Li Lingwei China Guan Weizhen
China Lao Yujing		 18–15, 15–9 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1986 Japan Open China Li Lingwei China Wu Dixi
China Lin Ying		 4–15, 8–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1988 Hong Kong Open China Shang Fumei China Guan Weizhen
China Lin Ying		 10–15, 4–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Invitational tournament (3 titles, 1 runners-up)

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1985 Malaysian Masters China Li Lingwei 11–6, 12–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1989 Konica Cup South Korea Lee Young-suk 11–0, 11–5 Gold Gold

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1978 WBF World Invitational Championships China Xu Jung China Li Fang
China Liang Qiuxia		 5–15, 7–15 Silver Silver
1985 Malaysian Masters China Li Lingwei China Wu Dixi
China Lin Ying		 5–15, 15–12, 15–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner

References

  1. ↑ "HAN AIPING". bwfmuseum.isida.pro.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  2. ↑ World Badminton, Volumes 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
  3. ↑ "愿天堂也有羽毛球 前世界冠军韩爱萍因病去世". Sina Sports. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
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