Beijing: World No. 1 men’s singles shuttler Chen Long has been selected by Visa, a multinational financial services company, as one of the Olympic hopefuls that Visa will support as Chen is aiming to compete in his second Olympics next year in Brazil.
Visa selects athletes to join its Team Visa Rio based on criteria including the athlete’s personal journey to the Olympic and Paralympics Games, athletic achievements, and community involvement.
Chen Long who won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, becomes the only Badminton player picked by Visa for the Team Visa Rio.
“I’m so excited to be part of the team, it’s my dream to play at the Rio 2016 Olympics,” said Chen.
Together with Chen, Chinese sprinter Zhang Peimeng has also been named as one of the athletes in the team.
“On behalf of Visa Inc. we would like to congratulate Chen and Zhang on their personal achievements and being role models for fans everywhere,” said Shirley Yu, manager of Visa China.
Visa has previously sponsored several world-renowned Chinese athletes including star basketball player Yao Ming, champion hurdler Liu Xiang and former tennis ace Li Na.
