On home courts of the Beijing Industrial University Gymnasium, Chinese badminton players are encountering tougher challenges in all five events, comparing with 2004 in Athens, Greece, where they pocketed three out of five Olympic golds.
The challenges are posed not only by major opponents who have made substantial progress in their own respective events, but also by the reform of the 21 scoring system initiated by the International Badminton Federation in 2005.
The scoring system change was aimed at weakening the advantages of some badminton powerhouses like China, and encourage active participation in the sport from all over the world.
When asked if the Chinese national badminton team could make a clean sweep of all the five gold medals in Beijing, head coach Li Yongbo vowed to exert all their efforts and to mobilize all their potentials, while refraining from claiming all golds.
On home court, the head coach admitted players from the host country would enjoy some advantages which, however, could turn into huge pressures on them.
"It is a double-edged sword," Li said. "It depends on how players handle it and their own mental strength."
Suffering from weak mental strength, world top-ranked men's single player Lin Dan was surprisingly kicked out in the first round of the Athens Olympics.
The defeat, however, didn't derail the career path of Lin Dan, who clinched the world title in 2006 and 2007 back-to-back.
In the coming Olympic Games, the 24-year-old No. 1 kept a low key.
"I never feel that I could win the Olympic gold for sure, since there are several players who are strong enough to compete for the gold," he said.
Among these players, world No. 2 Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia poses biggest threat to Lin Dan.
In the semifinals of the 25th Thomas Cup recently held in Jakarta, Indonesia, Lee delivered a clean defeat to Lin, showing that how contentious the much-anticipated encounter on Olympic court could be.
As the largest medal hope of Malaysia in the Olympics, 26-year-old Lee also shoulders enormous pressure. "It's now or never. This special event is held once every four years, and the second opportunity may never come," Lee claimed.
Things are the same to their boos, Xie Xinfang, world No.1 in women's singles, and Wong Mew Choo, ranked No.9 on the women's singles' chart.