As a doubles specialist, the solidly built Zhang Jun won several international men's doubles titles with compatriot
Zhang Wei including the
Swiss (1998),
China (2001), and
Thailand (2005) Opens. However, the majority of his titles, and the most prestigious ones, came in mixed doubles when he teamed up with the formidable
Gao Ling. These included consecutive gold medals at the
2000 and
2004 Olympic Games, earned by surviving a number of very close matches, particularly in 2000 when they were on the verge of elimination in the semifinals. In a similar fashion, Zhang and Gao captured the
2001 IBF World Championships by squeezing past the brilliant South Korean duo
Kim Dong-moon and
Ra Kyung-min 17-16 in the third game. Zhang's other titles with Gao include three victories (2001, 2003, and 2006) at the prestigious
All-England Championships; the
Badminton Asia Championships in 2002; the
China Masters in 2005; and the
China (2002, 2003),
Japan (2003),
Indonesia (2004),
Malaysia (2004, 2006),
Thailand (2005),
Singapore (2005), and
German (2006) Opens. Zhang had the honor of being an Olympic torch carrier at the opening ceremony of the
2008 Beijing Games. After retirement, Zhang Jun coached the Chinese national badminton team. He was promoted to head coach of the national badminton doubles team in 2017, before being selected as vice chairman of the
Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) in 2018. On January 28, 2019, Zhang Jun was elected as the chairman of Chinese Badminton Association. Zhang Jun, as the chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association, competed with
Khunying Patama, his counterpart from the
Badminton Association of Thailand and
Anton Aditya Subowo, president of
Badminton Asia, for the position of
BWF deputy president but lost; Patama was elected deputy president in May 2019, during the
Sudirman Cup tournament in
Nanning,
China.
Investigation In April 2026, it was reported that Zhang, who had been missing for at least 10 days, had been was put under investigation by disciplinary authorities. On 29 April, the
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the
National Supervisory Commission announced that Zhang was being investigated for alleged "serious violations of discipline and laws". ==Personal life==