Jayce
As an athlete, he has won nine world championships; as a coach, he led his team to six world championships and received the National Excellent Coach Award for three consecutive years. As a university teacher, his courses are so popular that they fill up as soon as they are available, and he has received an A rating or higher from students for four consecutive years. He is the badminton world champion and the director of the Training Center at the Sports Department of Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Chen Jin.
From Young Prodigy to World Champion, He is the “Golden Boy” Who Brought Glory to the Nation
Born in 1986 in an ordinary family in Handan, Hebei Province, Chen Jin’s original name was Chen Pengfei. He changed his name to “Chen Jin” later on, inspired by his coach Jin Chao, whose name means “gold.” The name change symbolized his aspiration to become a gold medal-winning athlete who would bring honor to his country.
In 1996, Chen Jin and his father went to Nanjing to seek a coach. Jin Chao, the principal and badminton coach of the Xiguan District Sports School in Nanjing, took a liking to Chen Jin immediately, saying, “This kid is good, I’ll take him!” Thus, Chen Jin began his journey to becoming a badminton champion.
Under the guidance of his coach, Chen Jin made rapid progress toward his goal of winning gold. In 2000, he joined the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Team as a professional athlete. In 2001, he passed the selection process and entered the national team. In 2002, at 16, Chen Jin made a mark by winning the men’s singles championship at the World Junior Championships and subsequently moved up to the national first team.
“Back then, I saw the first-team players as idols. My favorite was Xia Xuanze, whose fighting spirit on the court still impresses me today,” Chen Jin recalls. “After winning the China Masters, my performance hit rock bottom, but I kept working silently, knowing I would rebound soon.”
Chen Jin did not disappoint. In the 2008 All England Open, he defeated his senior, Lin Dan, to win the championship with a 2-0 victory.
Chen Jin represented China in the Thomas Cup in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012, helping the Chinese men’s badminton team win each time. At a press conference after one of the matches, when asked by a foreign journalist, Chen Jin said, “Standing on the podium is exciting, but once you step down, everything starts from zero. There are more competitions waiting for me.”
From National Team Coach to University Professor, He is a “Star” Loved by Students
After ending his four-year coaching career with the national team, Chen Jin pursued further studies at Beijing Sport University. Even though he left the national team, he knew he couldn’t leave sports or badminton behind.
In September 2018, Chen Jin was appointed an associate professor in the Sports Department of HIT.
Starting a new job is always challenging. Initially, Chen Jin faced many difficulties. To be a good sports teacher at HIT, one needs to be both “precise” and “broad”—teaching not only sports techniques but also sports theory.
Chen Jin was responsible for teaching the badminton club students. Initially, he tried to apply professional team training methods to his students, but they found it challenging to accept. He had to adjust his training strategy, starting from basics like warm-up and grip techniques, gradually increasing the difficulty. In 2019 and 2022, his team won the group championship in the badminton competition of the 17th and 18th Heilongjiang Provincial Student Games and achieved excellent results in individual events.
“Chen Jin’s coaching has deeply impressed me,” says Lu Cailai, a doctoral student from the School of Energy at HIT. “During the training camp before the Provincial Student Games, Chen Jin would play seven or eight consecutive matches with different students without ever complaining. He would analyze and correct our issues while playing. From him, I’ve learned not just professional badminton skills but also humility and selfless dedication.”
Since taking up his teaching role, Chen Jin’s undergraduate course “Sports – Badminton” has had 565 students enrolled, all of whom gave him A or A+ ratings. During the pandemic, he offered a “Health Fitness Online Course” for graduate students to ensure their physical and mental well-being.
Badminton is a popular sport among HIT students and faculty, and Chen Jin’s presence has intensified this enthusiasm. He began to think about how to combine his experience with the needs of amateur players, leading him to develop a badminton MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), which received strong support from the university.
Developing a badminton MOOC was more challenging than other sports MOOCs due to the high-speed nature of badminton. Ordinary camera equipment couldn’t capture the shuttlecock’s speed clearly, and the course had to be filmed in a standard badminton court in a relatively quiet indoor gymnasium.
Chen Jin meticulously oversaw every detail, from the syllabus, scripts, and shot list to the filming team. “To clearly demonstrate the smash technique, we often recorded from early morning to midnight to achieve the ideal effect. But it was all worth it—we wanted to create a top-quality course,” Chen Jin says.
To make it convenient for enthusiasts to learn, Chen Jin condensed each lesson into 9-10 minute videos, including key technical points, multi-angle breakdowns, slow-motion replays, and daily practice methods. “I hope students can genuinely understand badminton through this course and experience the thrill of competition,” he says.
Furthermore, Chen Jin integrates elements of sports ideology and politics into his courses, exploring a new model of “sports culture + course ideology.” He connects his personal experiences with the spirit of sports and patriotism, guiding students to incorporate their personal aspirations into the “Chinese Dream” and the “Dream of a Strong Nation.”
On December 31, 2019, Chen Jin’s MOOC “Flying with Gold Feathers: A World Champion’s Badminton Class” was launched on the China University MOOC platform. The course is completely free, and students who pass the assessment can receive a certification. To date, the course has had over 90,000 students across seven sessions and is used by multiple universities, becoming a true “golden course.”
“Besides completing my teaching tasks, I hope to contribute to promoting badminton and nationwide fitness,” says Chen Jin. Recently, with the support of the school and the Sports Department, Chen Jin established a “Champion Studio.” He offers free badminton coaching and venue services for autistic teenagers, aiding their rehabilitation and growth. In the future, he hopes to host more large-scale official competitions to improve the overall level of amateur badminton in Heilongjiang.
