—— Commissioned by the General Administration of Sport of China as well as the National Badminton Team, Bob Chen was comprehensively involved with the “rescue plan” for Zhang Ning. It quickly improved her state in the short training process, and she eventually won consecutive Olympic championships.
● From October issue of New Sports, 2011, dictated by Bob Chen, Written by Bai Qiang
Badminton is a highly intensive sport that is both offensive and defensive, and it requires explosive power, agility, and coordination. Therefore, for a high-level athlete such as Zhang Ning who wants to be an Olympic gold medallist, her body’s functions must reach their peak. Before 2008, due to the different levels of strain to the knees, ankles, back and shoulders, she could not properly train. Despite long-term treatment, it could only control inflammation, and her body’s functional level became weaker and weaker day by day, so her ranking continued to decline, and her chances of being selected for the Beijing Olympics was extremely slim.
In January 2008, commissioned by the General Administration of Sport of China and the National Badminton Team, Bob Chen’s STaR Team became comprehensively involved with the “rescue plan” for Zhang Ning, both in training and in daily life. After going though a detailed physical assessment with her, they conducted an intense personalized sports training and rehabilitation program with Zhang Ning’s problems in mind. Combined with a number of therapeutic nutritional methods at the same time, her condition soon took a turn for the better during a brief, grueling period. For example, she could only squat 40 kg before, which was not even as heavy as her own weight. After just one month of training, she could squat 140 kg. Her lower extremity’s strength improved greatly; she used to be very careful not to use too much strength on the course, and that was no longer an issue. It also enhanced her physical strength in competitions – she could play through all three games. Soon after, she joined the ranking tournaments and preliminary matches, qualified for Olympics, and got herself onto the Olympic squad.
However, between March and October, due to surgery on her tonsils, infections in the joints, skin diseases, prolonged low fever and other injuries, Zhang Ning’s condition went through many ups and downs. The Bob Chen STaR Team followed her from morning to night; they used sports training rehabilitation, combined with special training, etc., and in a short time they brought her back to top form. As a result, the world witnessed a legendary event at the Beijing Olympic Games: a skinny, multi-injured, 33 year-old veteran Zhang Ning, after three complete, highly competitive games, finally stepped onto the highest point of the podium, and became the perennial champion of the Olympics.
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