Yue GUO

As the reigning World Champion Guo Yue went into the Beijing Olympics, hoping to confirm that result with Olympic gold. Already having a bronze in her kitty from Athens 2004, she faced her formidable compatriot Wang Nan in the semi-finals, and bowed out 4-2. She did recover to win the bronze to make for an all-Chinese podium behind Zhang Yining and Wang. Together with them, she also made up the Chinese team, and earned a gold medal without a single match loss. Between 2003 and 2001, Guo has earned 17 medals in World Championships. These include gold medals in all four disciplines: singles (2007), doubles (2009, 2011, 2013), mixed doubles (2005, 2007) and team (2004, 2006, 2008, 2012).