Giving world a hand

Too much Chinese success is not a good thing for badminton, but the all-powerful country is willing to spread its expertise abroad for the betterment of the game, Chen Xiangfeng reports from London.

China's dominance in badminton has raised concerns about the sport's future around the world. However, China's head badminton coach, Li Yongbo, said he is keen to promote more exchanges with other countries to boost the international standard of the sport after his star-studded team claimed all five gold medals at the London Games, the first badminton sweep in Olympic history.

World No 1 and Olympic champion Lin Dan leads China's dominance in badminton. With concerns about the sport's future around the world, China's head badminton coach, Li Yongbo, promises to promote the game worldwide. [Photo/Agencies]

"I hope we have more and wider exchange programs with Britain or other countries," said Li after watching an exhibition match between a Chinese amateur team and a local amateur team during the London Games. "We are always willing to work with other sides and support various programs to promote the sport worldwide."

For the first time, a Chinese amateur tournament the Red Bull Badminton Super Final was played abroad and included a number of activities which featured some of Britain's best amateurs.

"It's an interesting and new effort to take some small events abroad. Hopefully we can do more in the future," Li said.

Whether Li is willing to accept it or not, the development of the sport is now severely tilting in favor of Asia over Europe.

Apart from the five gold medals, China, who won three gold at the Beijing Olympics, also won two silver and a bronze in London. Only Russia, from Europe, won a bronze while Asian countries took all the other medals.

Of the top 10 players in the men's and women's world rankings, there are only three European faces - men's No 5 Peter Gade from Denmark, women's No 5 Juliane Schenk of Germany and world No 6 Tine Baun of Denmark.

Europe's former powerhouses, like Britain and Denmark, are struggling to find new stars among their younger players.

Britain's badminton needs help

As host, and also the originator of the sport, Britain failed to see a single one of its players reach the knockout stage.

Stuart Wardell, coach of the Wimbledon Badminton Club in London, sent his players to the exhibition game, but lamented that the chance to play with Chinese players was not as regular as he would like.

"This is my first experience with some Chinese players in Britain, even though they are just amateurs," said Wardell, who has been in coaching for 12 years. "The main reason is, that for us, it is difficult to establish links with China. Mainly because they are a strong team and probably they do not want to go out that's what I feel, anyway.

"It would be more helpful if more players from other countries could go to China. Watch and learn how they do it."

In Wardell's club, one of the biggest in Britain and among the few to produce some top players, 19-year-old Toby Penty, now world No 115, is showing the most promise. He played Du Pengyu of China at the Thomas Cup in May, losing 2-0.

Wardell said, like other European countries, Britain needs good Chinese coaches to help young guns.

"Lots of Chinese are now coaching in different countries in Europe and most countries are improving. So far as I know, there are no Chinese coaches in Britain. At least no decent ones."

He said he would also welcome exchange programs, including training camps and exhibitions.

"If we have more events like that it would create a buzz for sport, which is still small here."

Penty, who will start full-time training with the national squad next week, is also looking forward to more competitive games against Chinese players to hone his skills.

"Hopefully, I will have the chance to play a lot more against some of the Chinese players in the coming years. It's long way to go, to compete against countries like China. We will try and hopefully the sport will get bigger in England," said Penty, who won his singles match during Monday's exhibition against the Chinese side.

"It's really good. It's very important to get our players exposed to players from Asian countries, to have the chance to see some of the best (amateur) players, to see how they train and they play. Maybe (we can) pick up something they do well to make us better," said Penty.