Title: Chinese Badminton Team Announces Men’s Doubles Pair for Universiade
The Universiade, a prestigious international multi-sport event for university athletes, will finally kick off on July 28 in Chengdu, Sichuan after a two-year delay. The badminton competition at the Universiade will feature six events, including mixed team competitions and five individual events. The Chinese team’s entry list mainly consists of top players from the national badminton team who were unable to compete in the individual events at the Asian Games.
According to information received from the Ningbo Small Ball Training Center on the 8th, Zhou Haodong, a talented athlete from Ningbo, has been selected for the Chinese team and will partner with He Jiting in the men’s doubles category.
The World Universiade badminton competition is scheduled to take place from July 30 to August 7 and will feature mixed team competitions and five individual events.
For the men’s singles team, China has sent teenagers Wang Zhengxing and Dong Tianyao. The women’s singles team comprises Han Yue and Zhang Yiman, who were already part of the World Championships and Asian Games team competitions. In the men’s doubles category, the Chinese team will be represented by He Jiting/Zhou Haodong and Tan Qiang/Ren Xiangyu. The women’s doubles team includes Du Yue/Xia Yuting and Li Wenmei/Liu Xuanxuan, while the mixed doubles events will see He Jiting/Du Yue and Ren Xiangyu/Liu Xuanxuan partnering up.
Zhou Haodong, born in Ningbo in 1998, began his badminton journey while studying at Zhen’an Primary School. His childhood idol was the renowned badminton player, Lin Dan.
Since joining the provincial team in 2010, Zhou has achieved remarkable success in national youth competitions, winning gold and silver medals in subsequent years. He also secured the mixed team championship at both the Asian Youth Badminton Championships and the World Youth Badminton Championships in 2015 with the Chinese team. In 2016, Zhou clinched the men’s doubles championship at the Asian Youth Badminton Championships and, in 2018, emerged victorious in the men’s doubles category at the China Lingshui Badminton Masters, partnering with Han Chengkai. Zhou was also honored with the IBF Most Potential Athlete Award in the same year.
Zhou’s recent accomplishments include his team’s triumph at the 2019 Sudirman Cup World Badminton Mixed Team Championship and his eighth-place ranking, alongside Han Chengkai, in the latest world rankings announced by the World Badminton Federation on November 12, 2019.
Furthermore, on September 17, 2021, Zhou Haodong and Wang Chang secured the men’s doubles championship at the 14th National Games.
As of the latest world rankings, the men’s doubles team of Zhou Haodong and He Jiting occupies the 16th spot.
The announcement of the Chinese men’s doubles team for the Universiade has garnered significant anticipation among badminton enthusiasts. Zhou Haodong’s inclusion in the team presents an opportunity for him to showcase his skills alongside his partner, He Jiting, and aim for a strong performance at the upcoming competition.