New Delhi: Following her Paris Olympics silver medal campaign, He Bing Jiao of China announced her retirement from international badminton. She will, however, continue to play domestic tournaments.
The 27-year-old left-hander suffered a loss at the hands of top-seeded Korean shuttler An Se Young in the Paris 2024 women’s singles final. Her second-placed finish was the biggest accomplishment of her career at a major tournament.
She reached the semifinal on her Olympic debut at Tokyo Games in 2021 and finished fourth after losing her bronze medal match to Indian ace shuttler PV Sindhu.
At Paris 2024, she won hearts for holding a Spanish pin on the podium as a tribute to Rio Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin, who had retired midway through their semifinal due to injury.
The Chinese decided to end her career after playing 461 singles matches and compiling a win-loss record of 336-125. She also won 27 of the 36 games she contested in 2024.
Bing Jiao rose to prominence in 2014 after finishing second in the BWF World Junior Championships to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. Later that year, in her native Nanjing, she upset Yamaguchi in the final of the Youth Olympic Games.
She was part of the title-winning Sudirman Cup and Uber Cup teams; at the individual level, her biggest accomplishments at the World Championships were bronze medals in 2018 and 2021.
–IANS