YONEX Announces 8-year Partnership with China National Badminton Team

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Huang Yaqiong (from left), Shi Yuqi, and Chen Yufei at the YONEX sponsorship signing ceremony. (photo: Shi Tang/Getty Images)
Huang Yaqiong (from left), Shi Yuqi, and Chen Yufei at the YONEX sponsorship signing ceremony. (photo: Shi Tang/Getty Images)

Beijing: YONEX announced that it has become the official sponsor for the China national badminton team last Wednesday.

The China Badminton Association President Zhang Jun together with Zheng Siwei, Huang Yaqiong, Shi Yuqi, and Chen Yufei went to Shanghai to witness the signing of the new sponsorship deal.

Under the new deal, the Japanese badminton equipment manufacturer would provide providing sportswear, kit, and equipment for the next eight years.

“YONEX and the Chinese badminton team shared the same short-term and long-term vision, therefore, we’ve decided to partner with YONEX,” said Zhang.

Zhang also explained that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, the Chinese players couldn’t participate in several international tournaments, but that won’t affect their Olympic qualification.

“Not able to compete at international tournaments definitely hurt our world rankings, but it has minimum impact on the Olympic qualifications for our players,” added Zhang.

“Another problem was that we weren’t able to observe and track our opponents’ performance closely,” continued Zhang.

Meanwhile, World No. 11 men’s singles player, Shi Yuqi said that the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic was actually a blessing in disguise for him, giving him more time to recover from a serious ankle injury he sustained in July of 2019, at the Indonesia Open Super 1000.

“I have recovered about 90% to 100% from my injury. I benefited from the long preparation, and look forward to facing top players from other countries,” said Shi.

Shi and World No. 6 Chen Long will be the two men’s singles players to qualify in the Tokyo Olympics.

The World No. 1 mixed doubles player, Zheng Siwei, who is also the captain for the China team, revealed that they have been using the latest products from YONEX since Feb 2021.

“In addition to the high-tech featured equipment, YONEX also supports us with their professional service team,” said Zheng.

YONEX president, Kusaki Hayashida, also seemed excited to be able to seal the deal with the badminton powerhouse.

“It is an honor to start this partnership with the China Badminton Association, especially during the 75th anniversary of our company. We, as YONEX, are committed to providing the best products and services to help the national team achieve greatness on the world stage.”

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