Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng (back) of China compete with Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia at the men's doubles gold medal match of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games badminton event, in Beijing, China, Aug 16, 2008.[Xinhua]

Face of Adversity, short for "in the face of adversity", is marked on the back of Cai Yun, one of China's best men's doubles badminton players.

Now Cai and his long-time partner Fu Haifeng face the glory of Olypmics for bagging a silver, the best result for Chinese in this event since badminton was introduce into Olympiad in 1992.

Previously, Cai and Fu clinched the title at 2006 World Championships. China has won eight golds in all the events except the men's doubles, which makes Chinese badminton head coach Li Yongbo refused his team to be called "dream team".

Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng are called "pair of wind and cloud", as "feng" stands for wind in Chinese and "yun" for cloud. Young, energetic and handsome, they enjoy a large group of fans in China.

They were at their low ebb last year, and were eliminated early in the second round at the 2007 World Championships. They were also the only ones in the Chinese team that were beaten in the Thomas Cup in May this year.

"I like them both," said Chen Maoyuan, a badminton fan who watched the final match in the gym. "Fu has a speed of wind and his services are excellent, while Cai's net play is as erratic as cloud."

Cai creates chances for Fu to attack, and a 1.83-meter Fu is dangerous for any rival with his powerful smashes and good vertical leaps. Fu has set the official world smash record June 3, 2005. The actual bird speed was measured at 332 km/h, making badminton the fastest racquet sport in the world.

They are better at attack than defense, which makes them favorable for the 21-score system which was widely used since 2006.

They beat Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man from South Korea in the Olympic semifinals but lost to Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan from Indonesia in the final on Saturday.

Cai, 28, felt relieved after the final match, saying "during the past few years it seems a knife was pointing at me in the back and forcing to move forward."

"Badminton is part, not all, of my life," he hinted he might retire after the Bejing Olympics at a press conference on Saturday, while his 24-year-old partner wants to continue playing.

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2008)