BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Gao Ling kept a smile on her face although the two-time Olympic badminton champion failed to make it three in a row.

　　Tuesday's first round mixed doubles game was a rematch of the Athens Olympic final, in which the smiley Gao, pairing up with Zhang Jun, a powerful smasher who retired two years ago to coach Chinese women's doubles players, met British veterans Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms.

　　One difference between these two tough matches is that Gao's partner has switched from Zhang Jun to Zheng Bo, a younger and less mature shuttler.

　　The other difference is the result: Gao and Zhang clinched the 15-1, 12-15, 15-12 victory in Athens, while this time on home soil, the British took a sweet revenge by winning 16-21, 21-16, 19-21 in breathtaking 75 minutes.

　　"We could play much better if the Olympic Games were postponed for a while," said Gao, lamenting a lack of time to build the chemistry.

　　Gao is considered a badminton genius known for precision, speed and touch on the net.

　　However, the retirement of her mixed doubles partner Zhang Jun and longtime doubles partner Huang Sui apparently affected her Olympic campaign.

　　Gao and Zheng took a 2006 Asian Games gold medal after pairing up only for three weeks. They went on to win several international titles and made it to the top of the world rankings.

　　"We used to be underdogs and unnoticed," said Gao. "After topping the world rankings, we became the target. Our rivals began to study us and work out tactics to beat us."

　　That could partly explain why they bowed out of the spotlight in 2008 and then yielded the No.1 place to Indonesians Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir. That could also explain why they lost to the British pair in Beijing.

　　"I feel no regret. I have tried my best," said the 29-year-old Gao, who has bagged four Olympic medals and nine World Championships medals, both of which are world records for the women's badminton players.

　　"My next goal is to get married and have my own child," said Gao, with a sweet smile on her face.