Li Yongbo says badminton rivals are catching up with Chinese shuttlers at the international level
China’s head coach, Li Yongbo, says that badminton rivals from different countries are catching up with Chinese shuttlers, whose dominance on the world-stage has become quite challenging now.
The qualifying round for the 2012 London Olympics have begun since May 2011 and the rules to qualify for Olympics have become quite challenging. Now, in the category of Men’s and Women’s Singles, only three shuttlers can participate from one country in the
event and that too if all of them come into the top-four in the world rankings.
In the category of Doubles, including Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed doubles, only two pairs or couples can participate in the 2012 Olympic Games. The qualification system has become quite tough and to occupy the maximum allowed berths in Olympics
has become demanding.
The Chinese shuttlers have to work extra hard as their competitors are catching up with an incredible pace in all categories of the game. Besides the leading badminton nations, India, Japan and Chinese Taipei have also produced some dark horses, who can
shake the boat of China’s supremacy.
While talking about next year’s Olympics, Yongbo said, “The Olympic honor is special to me, but it is not only reflected in the gold medal, but also in the sports spirit, which is never give up.”
He further added, “As a coach, I definitely hope that we could grab as many gold medals as possible, but as long as we do our best, it will be enough.”
Now, the competitions are getting tougher as compared to the past one decade, where the Chinese shuttlers dominated the arena. Today, many players from different countries have made their presence felt to the top players by proving their worth in difference
events.
While talking about the less number of seats, Yongbo said, “The berths are reduced and the rivals are improving. We couldn't change these facts, but we could make ourselves stronger.”
Now, the goal of Chinese shuttlers including Lin Dan, Chen Long, Chen Jin, Cai Yun, Fu Haifeng and others in different categories, will be to perform well in all important events to gain more and more ranking points while remaining injury-free, if they are
to represent their country at the Olympics.
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