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World Championships Gold Medalist Opens Badminton Hall in Chengdu

Photo/Zhang Jian

On a normal weekday evening, all 10 courts at the VICTOR Li Junhui Badminton Hall in Chengdu were already "booked up". Some people were playing badminton, while others were participating in training. 

As the name suggests, the founder of this badminton hall is Li Junhui, the badminton men's doubles world champion and the men's doubles silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics.

Photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

He once partnered with Liu Yuchen to win multiple heavyweight men's doubles titles, including the World Championships and won the silver medal in the men's doubles at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Because both of them are over 1.9 meters tall, they are called the "Twin Towers" by fans. After announcing his retirement in 2021, Li Junhui came to Chengdu to start a business in Chengdu, his next journey with badminton.

"The hall is quite popular on weekday evenings, as well as weekends and holidays," Li Junhui told NBD. "Since the beginning of the year, especially with the upcoming Thomas and Uber Cup in Chengdu, he has clearly felt that there are more people coming to the hall than before, " This year, there are more people signing up for training classes."

In addition to the growing popularity of the hall, what impressed Li Junhui the most was the passion of Chengdu badminton enthusiasts for the sport. According to his observation, some senior badminton lovers not only pay special attention to various competitions, but also buy the same rackets and shoes as the stars, and pay close attention to various supporting new products.

"In my spare time, I also meet badminton lovers in different places in Chengdu, and some of them will take the initiative to communicate with me," Li Junhui said when talking about his daily communication with badminton lovers. "I am also very happy to be able to share what I have learned for so long with them."

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More than 100 rackets are strung in the store every day

"Could you please prioritize stringing this racket for me?"

On the afternoon of April 12, a badminton enthusiast who was fully "armed" with a racket bag walked into a badminton store and said to a stringer. The two were obviously old acquaintances, and their conversation was more like a chat between two friends.

The busiest people in the store are the stringers. At least four stringers are stringing rackets non-stop. "There are a lot of badminton players who need stringing recently. The stringers have been working overtime since last week, and the store strings more than 100 rackets every day," said store owner Liu Fang.

Photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

"This year, there are more and more professional badminton players coming to our store," Liu Fang said. Typically, badminton strings, as one of the consumables of badminton equipment, have been intermittently out of stock since this year. In addition, some high-end professional rackets are also in short supply.

As the Thomas and Uber Cup draw near, some badminton players will also come to the store to buy event-related peripherals.

Photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

We noticed in the store that the products of this joint name are very rich, ranging from accessories for racket sets to jerseys, to joint name rackets and racket bags. Among them, the panda element is the well-deserved "eye-catching package".

At the same time, when talking about the entire sporting goods market in Chengdu, Liu Fang said based on the store's operation, "It's not just our store, but the overall data of the sporting goods market, including badminton, should have grown compared with last year. The growth of the big market also shows from the side that the group of people participating in badminton is increasing."

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Young players getting more

On the afternoon of April 11, inside the badminton hall of the Chengdu Youth Amateur Sports School, young players who participate in specialized training after school are practicing their skills in groups of ten.

Photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

According to Xiao Ke, the head coach of the Chengdu men’s badminton team, the number of male and female players attending daily training sessions in the hall exceeds 100. The Thomas Cup has had a catalytic effect, leading to a noticeable increase in the number of registrations.

Xiao Ke, who has been involved in youth badminton education for over 20 years since retiring in 1997, explains that starting from March, the enrollment in their entire interest class has nearly doubled.

The successful bid by Chengdu to host the Thomas Cup has not only boosted the popularity of badminton locally but has also subtly increased the enthusiasm of young students.

"In terms of the whole country, Chengdu has an excellent atmosphere for youth badminton. Currently, there are over eighty badminton clubs in Chengdu, with a large number of coaching staff, and the entire market is thriving."1.

This growth in interest and participation is a positive sign for the sport and its development in the region.