# Bao Chunlai

Bao Chunlai (Chinese: 鲍春来; pinyin: Bào Chūnlái; Mandarin pronunciation:; born 17 February 1983) is a retired left-handed badminton player from China.

## Career

The tall, powerful Bao ranked among the world's leading singles player during the first decade of the 21st century. He was a member of China's world champion Thomas Cup (men's international) teams in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. Bao won medals at three of the six BWF World Championships that he played in, earning a bronze at the 2003 and 2007 editions, and a silver at the 2006 Championships in Madrid, where he upset first seeded Lee Chong Wei in the quarterfinals before falling to teammate Lin Dan in the final. A frequent finalist in top tier international tournaments, Bao had some difficulty breaking through in them until 2009, his most successful year, which saw him capture the Asian Championships, and the German, Singapore, and Japan Opens. In 2010 he upset his superbly accomplished compatriot Lin Dan in the quarterfinals of the prestigious All England Open but was then upset in turn by Japan's Kenichi Tago. Bao's repeat win that year at the German Open was his last tournament victory on the international circuit.
Bao officially retired from the national team on 21 September 2011. In 2015 he appeared in the sports action film Full Strike.

## Achievements
### World Championships

Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2003 | National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England | Xia Xuanze | 11–15, 7–15 | Bronze |
| 2006 | Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad, Madrid, Spain | Lin Dan | 21–18, 17–21, 12–21 | Silver |
| 2007 | Putra Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Lin Dan | 12–21, 20–22 | Bronze |

### Asian Championships

Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2009 | Suwon Indoor Stadium, Suwon, South Korea | Chen Long | 16–21, 21–10, 21–16 | Gold |
| 2011 | Sichuan Gymnasium, Chengdu, China | Lin Dan | 19–21, 13–21 | Silver |

### World Junior Championships

Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2002 | Tianhe Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China | Sony Dwi Kuncoro | 7–1, 7–5, 1–7, 7–5 | Gold |

### BWF Superseries (3 titles, 5 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels are Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consists of twelve tournaments around the world that have been introduced since 2011. Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year.
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2007 | Malaysia Open | Peter Gade | 15–21, 21–17, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2007 | Indonesia Open | Lee Chong Wei | 15–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2007 | Denmark Open | Lin Dan | 15–21, 12–21 | Runner-up |
| 2007 | French Open | Lee Chong Wei | 11–21, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2007 | China Open | Lee Chong Wei | 21–12, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2009 | Singapore Open | Boonsak Ponsana | 21–19, 16–21, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2009 | Japan Open | Taufik Hidayat | 21–15, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2010 | China Open | Chen Long | 21–9, 14–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |

### BWF Grand Prix (5 titles, 10 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) which was held from 2007 to 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2001 | Dutch Open | Lee Tsuen Seng | 1–7, 7–1, 5–7, 4–7 | Runner-up |
| 2001 | Denmark Open | Lin Dan | 7–5, 7–1, 7–0 | Winner |
| 2004 | Swiss Open | Lin Dan | 12–15, 6–15 | Runner-up |
| 2004 | Japan Open | Ronald Susilo | 13–15, 6–15 | Runner-up |
| 2004 | China Open | Lin Dan | 11–15, 10–15 | Runner-up |
| 2005 | China Masters | Lin Dan | 6–15, 13–15 | Runner-up |
| 2005 | Hong Kong Open | Lin Dan | 4–15, 6–15 | Runner-up |
| 2005 | China Open | Chen Hong | 12–15, 15–8, 9–15 | Runner-up |
| 2006 | Indonesia Open | Taufik Hidayat | 18–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2006 | Korea Open | Roslin Hashim | 21–18, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2006 | China Open | Chen Hong | 17–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2009 | German Open | Gong Weijie | 21–18, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2010 | German Open | Chen Long | 21–13, 21–10 | Winner |
| 2010 | Korea Grand Prix | Wang Zhengming | 23–21, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2011 | Malaysia Grand Prix Gold | Lee Chong Wei | 9–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |

## Performance timeline
### Singles performance timeline
#### Key

| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | G | S | B | NH | N/A | DNQ |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| Summer Olympics | NH | NH | NH | 2R 1–1 | NH | NH | NH | QF 2–1 | NH | NH | NH | 0 / 2 | 3–2 | 60% |
| World Championships | A | NH | SF-B 4–1 | NH | QF 3–1 | S 5–1 | SF-B 3–1 | NH | 1R 0–1 | 3R 2–1 | A | 0 / 6 | 17–6 | 74% |
| World Cup | NH | NH | NH | NH | RR 1–1 | RR 1–1 | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
| World Superseries Finals | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | DNQ | SF 2–2 | DNQ | DNQ | 0 / 1 | 2–2 | 50% |
| Asian Championships | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 3R 2–1 | G 6–0 | A | S 5–1 | 1 / 3 | 13–2 | 87% |
| Asian Games | NH | A | NH | NH | NH | QF 2–1 | NH | NH | NH | A | NH | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% |
| East Asian Games | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | NH | NH | 0 / 0 | | |
| Team Competitions |||||||||||||||
| Thomas Cup | NH | SF-B 1–1 | NH | G 4–0 | NH | G 5–0 | NH | G 5–0 | NH | G 1–0 | NH | 4 / 5 | 16–1 | 94% |
| Sudirman Cup | A | NH | A | NH | A | NH | A | NH | A | NH | A | 0 / 0 | | |
| Asian Games | NH | SF-B 0–0 | NH | NH | NH | G 2–0 | NH | NH | NH | G 0–0 | NH | 2 / 3 | 2–0 | 100% |
| East Asian Games | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | MH | MH | 0 / 0 | | |
| BWF World Superseries Premier |||||||||||||||
| Korea Open | 1R 0–1 | 3R 1–1 | A | 3R 2–1 | A | W 6–0 | SF 3–1 | QF 2–1 | A | QF 2–1 | 2R 1–1 | 1 / 8 | 17–7 | 71% |
| All England Open | A | SF 4–1 | 3R 2–1 | 2R 1–1 | QF 3–1 | 2R 1–1 | SF 3–1 | SF 3–1 | 2R 1–1 | SF 3–1 | 2R 1–1 | 0 / 9 | 18–9 | 67% |
| Indonesia Open | A | SF 4–1 | 3R 2–1 | SF 4–1 | A | F 5–1 | F 4–1 | SF 3–1 | Absent | Absent | 2R 1–1 | 0 / 7 | 23–7 | 77% |
| Denmark Open | W 6–0 | A | 1R 0–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | F 4–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 1 / 3 | 10–2 | 83% |
| China Open | 2R 2–1 | A | QF 3–1 | F 5–1 | F 5–1 | A | W 5–0 | A | 1R 0–1 | F 4–1 | A | 1 / 7 | 24–6 | 80% |
| BWF World Superseries |||||||||||||||
| Malaysia Open | 1R 2–1 | SF 4–1 | QF 3–1 | QF 3–1 | SF 4–1 | A | F 4–1 | QF 2–1 | A | 2R 1–1 | 1R 0–1 | 0 / 9 | 23–9 | 72% |
| India Open | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | 3R 1–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Singapore Open | 3R 2–1 | QF 3–1 | QF 3–1 | SF 4–1 | QF 3–1 | SF 4–1 | Absent | Absent | W 5–0 | A | 2R 1–1 | 1 / 8 | 25–7 | 78% |
| China Masters | NH | NH | NH | NH | F 4–1 | A | QF 2–1 | SF 3–1 | 2R 1–1 | SF 3–1 | A | 0 / 5 | 13–5 | 72% |
| Japan Open | A | QF 2–1 | 1R 0–1 | F 4–1 | QF 2–1 | 2R 0–1 | 1R 0–1 | A | W 5–0 | QF 2–1 | A | 1 / 8 | 15–7 | 68% |
| French Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | NH | F 4–1 | A | QF 2–1 | Absent | Absent | 0 / 2 | 6–2 | 75% |
| Hong Kong Open | A | NH | SF 4–1 | NH | F 4–1 | A | 2R 1–1 | A | SF 3–1 | Absent | Absent | 0 / 4 | 12–4 | 75% |
| BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix |||||||||||||||
| German Open | Absent | Absent | SF 4–1 | A | SF 4–1 | 3R 2–1 | Absent | Absent | W 6–0 | W 6–0 | A | 2 / 5 | 22–3 | 88% |
| Swiss Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | F 4–1 | Absent | Absent | 2R 1–1 | SF 3–1 | 1R 0–1 | Absent | Absent | 0 / 4 | 8–4 | 67% |
| Dutch Open | F 5–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 0 / 1 | 5–1 | 83% |
| Philippines Open | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | 3R 2–1 | NH | A | NH | NH | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% |
| Macau Open | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | QF 3–1 | QF 3–1 | 1R 0–1 | Absent | Absent | Absent | 0 / 3 | 6–3 | 67% |
| Korea Open | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | Absent | Absent | Absent | W 5–0 | A | 1 / 1 | 5–0 | 100% |
| U.S. Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | QF 3–1 | 0 / 1 | 3–1 | 75% |
| Career Statistics |||||||||||||||
| | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | | | |
| Tournaments Played | 6 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 110 | 110 | 110 |
| Titles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Finals Reached | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Overall win–loss | 17–5 | 15–6 | 25–10 | 32–9 | 33–10 | 36–9 | 39–13 | 26–10 | 31–9 | 29–7 | 12–7 | 295–95 | 295–95 | 295–95 |
| Win Percentage | 77% | 71% | 71% | 78% | 77% | 80% | 75% | 72% | 78% | 81% | 63% | 75.64% | 75.64% | 75.64% |
| Year End Ranking | | | | | | | | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | | | |

## Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi finalists, and Olympic quarter finalists, plus all Olympic opponents.
* Chen Hong 2–5
* Chen Jin 5–2
* Chen Long 3–2
* Chen Yu 4–0
* Lin Dan 5–20
* Xia Xuanze 1–1
* Fung Permadi 1–0
* Chou Tien-chen 1–0
* Peter Gade 4–6
* Joachim Persson 4–1
* Kevin Cordón 1–0
* Hu Yun 1–0
* Taufik Hidayat 9–3
* Hendrawan 1–0
* Sony Dwi Kuncoro 7–3
* Simon Santoso 4–0
* Kenichi Tago 0–2
* Shoji Sato 4–0
* Lee Hyun-il 8–4
* Park Sung-hwan 5–0
* Park Tae-sang 2–2
* Shon Seung-mo 3–1
* Lee Chong Wei 4–12
* Przemyslaw Wacha 5–0
* Ronald Susilo 5–2
* Boonsak Ponsana 6–1

### Head-to-head vs. top 20 ranked players

Bao's win–loss record against players who have been ranked world No. 20 or higher is as follows:
Players who have been Olympic, world champion or ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.
| Nationality | Player | Head-to-head |
| CHN | Chen Hong | 4–5 |
| CHN | Chen Jin | 5–2 |
| CHN | Chen Long | 3–3 |
| CHN | Du Pengyu | 1–1 |
| CHN | Lin Dan | 5–20 |
| CHN | Qiao Bin | 2–0 |
| CHN | Wang Zhengming | 1–0 |
| CHN | Xia Xuanze | 1–1 |
| TPE | Chou Tien-chen | 1–0 |
| DEN | Viktor Axelsen | 0–1 |
| DEN | Peter Gade | 4–6 |
| DEN | Kenneth Jonassen | 1–1 |
| DEN | Joachim Persson | 4–1 |
| ENG | Rajiv Ouseph | 1–0 |
| ENG | Andrew Smith | 3–0 |
| GER | Marc Zwiebler | 1–0 |
| HKG | Chan Yan Kit | 5–0 |
| HKG | Hu Yun | 1–0 |
| HKG | Ng Wei | 3–0 |
| HKG | Wei Nan | 1–0 |
| IND | Chetan Anand | 1–0 |
| IND | Arvind Bhat | 1–0 |
| IND | Parupalli Kashyap | 3–0 |
| INA | Taufik Hidayat | 9–5 |
| Nationality | Player | Head-to-head |
| INA | Sony Dwi Kuncoro | 7–3 |
| INA | Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka | 2–0 |
| INA | Simon Santoso | 4–0 |
| JPN | Sho Sasaki | 6–0 |
| JPN | Shōji Satō | 5–0 |
| JPN | Kenichi Tago | 0–2 |
| JPN | Takuma Ueda | 1–0 |
| JPN | Kazushi Yamada | 2–0 |
| KOR | Lee Hyun-il | 9–4 |
| KOR | Park Sung-hwan | 5–1 |
| KOR | Son Wan-ho | 2–0 |
| MAS | Chong Wei Feng | 2–0 |
| MAS | Lee Chong Wei | 4–13 |
| MAS | Muhammad Hafiz Hashim | 2–2 |
| MAS | Muhammad Roslin Hashim | 6–1 |
| MAS | Wong Choong Hann | 9–3 |
| NED | Dicky Palyama | 3–2 |
| POL | Przemysław Wacha | 5–0 |
| SIN | Kendrick Lee Yen Hui | 3–0 |
| SIN | Ronald Susilo | 6–2 |
| THA | Boonsak Ponsana | 6–1 |
| VIE | Nguyễn Tiến Minh | 4–2 |
| WAL | Richard Vaughan | 1–0 |
    * Statistics are correct as of 28 October 2019.

### Players with winning records against Bao

| Nationality | Player | Head-to-head |
| CHN | Chen Hong | 4–5 |
| CHN | Lin Dan | 5–20 |
| CHN | Wu Yunyong | 0–1 |
| TPE | Liao Sheng-shiun | 0–1 |
| DEN | Viktor Axelsen | 0–1 |
| DEN | Peter Gade | 4–6 |
| Nationality | Player | Head-to-head |
| INA | Budi Santoso | 0–1 |
| JPN | Keita Masuda | 0–1 |
| JPN | Kenichi Tago | 0–2 |
| KOR | Park Tae-sang | 2–3 |
| MAS | Lee Chong Wei | 4–13 |
| MAS | Ong Ewe Hock | 0–1 |

## Filmography
### Films

* Confidant (2019)
* The Match (2016)
* Full Strike (2015)
* Soul Transfer Station (2012)