Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

THE Shenzhen Yuzhong Badminton Club will attend the tournaments of China Badminton Super League (CBSL) under the name of SUSTech-Kaisa in the five seasons between 2020 and 2024, according to an agreement signed yesterday.

SUSTech, as a partner, will render the naming rights to the club, while Shenzhen Kaisa Group Holdings Co. Ltd., sponsor of the team, will offer financial support.

Shenzhen Yuzhong Badminton Club is a professional club registered with the Chinese Badminton Association. As a team representing Shenzhen to attend tournaments at CBSL, it ranked 6th among clubs in the 2018-2019 season. “We hope to further improve our strength under the partnership with SUSTech and Kaisa,” said Huang Hua, general manager of the club.

Kaisa Group is also the sponsor of the Shenzhen team for the Chinese Football Association Super League.

Badminton is a popular sport in China and is one of the sports that gained policy support from the city government, according to Zhang Heyun, director of Shenzhen’s culture, tourism and sports bureau.

The overall output of Shenzhen’s sports industry in 2018 reached 85 billion yuan (US$12 billion). The per capita expense on sports in 2017 was 2,500 yuan.

The annual China Badminton Super League is a mixed team event similar to the Sudirman Cup comprising Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.

Tournaments consist of two stages — the group stage on double round-robin for home and away games, and the knockout stage for the top four teams in the semifinals on a single game followed by Final’s Day and 3rd/4th Place Playoff.