NEW DELHI: China have won the Sudirman Cup 13 times, a staggering mark given only 3 countries have ever won the mixed team world title. But hosting this summer’s edition at Xiamen, the formidable home team backed by a wall of raucous support, are particularly upbeat about gunning for the 14th.
In a winking, quippy statement to CGTN, China’s women’s doubles legend Jia Yifan said, “Our pre-match team slogan was AI-powered. I asked Zheng Yu for help, and she suggested I use #DeepSeek. The gesture was finalized after brainstorming with Shi Yuqi.” The precise words are yet unknown to the rest of the world, and Jia was uproarious talking about their gee-talk, but the team is building nice little intrigue around the buildup slogan.
Malaysia, led by Danish head coach Kennth Larsen, too have debuted a new team huddle coordinated move. But the Chinese, with a mix of first timers and serious old timers have been flaring their palms to show ‘5’ sign, with Shi Yuqi, Chen Yufei, Chen Qingchen, Jia Yifan and Huang Dongping all at their 5th Sudirman and veterans of the team event.
Chen Qingchen told CGTN: “We all loved it,” while Jia Yifan, said, “Proud to make my 5th Sudirman Cup Finals. Cai Yun did seven. But five times? That’s still something to celebrate!” Qingchen threatened with a laugh: “2029—Jia Yifan may still be here!”
After China swatted aside Algeria 5-0, women’s singles star Chen Yufei said, “At the Paris Olympics, I couldn’t settle my mind. I lost without being able to fully showcase what I had worked on for 3 years. That’s why it’s so hard to swallow. Now my focus is on #LA28. It’s very important to trust the process. Losing in team events hits especially hard because the mental pressure is greater. But what truly matters is how you grow from these setbacks,” she added.
Korea, Indonesia, the other two teams who have won previously, remain in contention but are not as strong on paper as China has been at the Fenghuang Gymnasium in East China’s Fujian Province.
Chen Yufei and doubles veteran Chen Qingchen had spent time away from the game post Paris, while men’s world No.1 Shi Yuqi was recovering from a knee injury, and the mixed-doubles pairings of Huang Dongping and Feng Yanzhe & Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin have been rejigged.
Shi Yuqi told reporters. “Playing at home, with teammates cheering from the sidelines, and the audience supporting us, it will definitely boost our performance on the court.”
The mixed-doubles duo Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin, are making their Sudirman Cup debut, and told the media, “I hope to show my best in the tournament and contribute points to the team,” while men’s doubles mainstays and immensely popular Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, said, “We want to play in every match, but we also need to manage our energy properly.”
All eyes will be on the women’s doubles debutantes world No.1 pair, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, just 21. “We want to let go of the pressure and show the power of youth,” said Tan, after being on a roll for thevlast 8 months.
China, dubbed Bamboo Curtain country by arch rivals Indonesians, won their first title in the 1995 edition at Switzerland. They were winners again in three subsequent editions which took place in Scotland 1997, Denmark 1999, and Spain 2001. This was followed bybthe staggering run – six consecutive titles from 2005 to 2015 before being broken by South Korea in 2017 which took place in Australia. China regained it thereafter and maintain a stranglehold on the title played over all five categories.
AI might be spitting out allegedly catchy words as slogans, but the secret to China’s Sudirman success is no secret at all. They just have immense depth and elite excellence over all 5 categories- both singles and 3 doubles.
Agencies