Sports
        

Center

Top foreign shuttlers to revive Chinese badminton league

Updated: 2011-01-14 15:08

(Xinhua)

Twitter Facebook Myspace Yahoo! Linkedin Mixx

BEIJING - The rebooted Chinese badminton league has invited top Asian shuttlers to add more attraction to the sport.

Men's singles world No 1 Lee Chong Wei was given the green light by the Malaysian badminton association to play in China, along with their top men's pair Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong, 2010 world championships silver medalists.

Related readings:
Top foreign shuttlers to revive Chinese badminton league China wins men's badminton team Asiad gold medal
Top foreign shuttlers to revive Chinese badminton league China reigns badminton with world title sweep
Top foreign shuttlers to revive Chinese badminton league World No 1 Lee hopes to shrug off pressures at badminton worlds

The 2004 Athens Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, having a huge fan base in China, is also confirmed of participation, Yangcheng Evening News reported on Thursday.

The four players will join Guangzhou club to play in the eight-team league kicking off next month, the Guangzhou based newspaper said.

Lee and Taufik's coming promised some interesting rematches with Olympic and multi-world championships winner Lin Dan from Bayi club, world champion Chen Jin and promising star Chen Long, who clinched the China Open title last year.

In the women's competition, shining stars are reigning world champion Wang Lin, Republic of Korea Open winner Wang Shixian, Asian Games titlist Wang Xin and 2009 world champion Lu Lan.

The Chinese badminton league was first launched in 1999 but put to a stop in 2003 due to the lack of sponsorship and unstable competition schedule.

The Chinese badminton association decided to give the league another try last year, amassing eight clubs from Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Bayi (the army).

Specials

President Hu visits the US

President Hu Jintao is on a state visit to the US from Jan 18 to 21.

Ancient life

The discovery of the fossile of a female pterosaur nicknamed as Mrs T and her un-laid egg are shedding new light on ancient mysteries.

Economic Figures

China's GDP growth jumped 10.3 percent year-on-year in 2010, boosted by a faster-than-expected 9.8 percent expansion in the fourth quarter.

2011 postgraduate entrance exam
Pet businesses
Critics call for fraud case to be reopened