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Friday May 16, 12:54 PMChinese badminton domination bad for the game, says coach
China has not been beaten at the women's Uber Cup team championships taking place here in 10 years, while their men are aiming for a third straight Thomas Cup title. The top 10 of the world rankings are dominated by Chinese players and they are hot favourites to sweep the Olympic gold medals on home turf in Beijing in August. Li is determined that China continues its winning ways but said it was encouraging that rival nations have started to improve and offer stiffer resistance. "It is clear, and we should be happy, that the level of badminton is rising all across the world, which is good for the development of the sport. It makes the sport more entertaining for the spectators," he said. "I feel that it is meaningless for China to keep winning 3-0 or 5-0. I look forward to more competition from other countries and my job is just to ensure that China wins." Countries that have exceeded expectations at Uber Cup here include Germany, Malaysia, and the Netherlands, which narrowly lost to China 3-2 in the quarter-finals. Among the men, South Korea has proved that it is now a power to be reckoned with having reached the semi-finals. Their team includes Park Sung-Hwan, who won the Asian Championships last month, and Lee Hyun-Il who took the Korean Open title. |
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