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New horizons for Wang Yihan after Olympics

Dubai - What lies in store next for the Shanghai native is anyone's guess which even she has no clear answer at the moment.

 Tall Wang Yihan may be in the twilight of her badminton career after having remained in the top 10 for so many seasons along with her Chinese brigade.
Twenty seven now, Yihan, a former world junior and senior champ, sees the Rio Olympics as the next big thing in her life and has taken this year-end finals in Dubai as a critical part of the decision making process before calling it quits from the big stage.
What lies in store next for the Shanghai native is anyone's guess which even she has no clear answer at the moment.
"Naturally like for every player on the circuit, the Olympics comes as the next big goal, the same applies to me too. But Dubai this year is quite crucial to further assess my game and career, and a yardstick for improvement as well," Yihan told Khaleej Times on Thursday.
She continued with a smile and philosophical glance upwards to get an answer to what she would really like to do in life after a season or two later. "I have no idea at the moment but I think I can say it is going to be something outside the sport."
Modelling has been part of her endorsement runs in recent times, and it may well be the next field that Yihan will find big success.
On her match against Thai star Ratchanok Intanon whom she managed to subdue in three grueling sets in the afternoon's feature match, she said: "Ratchanok had everything in her favour in the second set but squandered chances. I quickened the tempo a bit to rattle her and this pushed her into hurried strokes. The unforced errors came at crucial moments."
This was Yihan's 11th consecutive win over the former world champion, a record she says did not give her any extra confidence before the round 2 Group B women's singles encounter.
"We have to go into a game without any wrong perceptions or ideas as such thoughts tend to tie us down. She (Ratchanok) has a great allround style and is extremely talented. Experience is something I had to my advantage on Thursday," Yihan who was introduced to the sport by her mother at a very young age, said.
moni@khaleejtimes.com