Photo: provided to Hangzhoufeel
Event
By Dai Ya
The Union Cup International Badminton Friendship Tournament was held on April 15 to celebrate the upcoming Asian Games and embrace cultural diversity. The competition brought altogether six teams, with each having 10 local and international players, making it a truly international event.
The tournament was jointly organized by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Hangzhou High-Tech Zone (Binjiang) Committee, the City Express (Hangzhoufeel), and the Hangzhou Danfeng Experimental Primary School. The event provided an excellent opportunity for the players to showcase their skills and socialize.
Badminton enthusiasts of all ages and of different cultural backgrounds and playing skills joined an opening ceremony at the school gym. The adorable Asian Games mascot trios clumsily walked onto the stage, charming everyone and eliciting smiles all around. A host solemnly made a welcome speech, joyfully introduced all the teams, and announced the beginning of the competitions.
The teams quickly immersed themselves in discussing strategies and warming up. The Ambassadors team, consisting of the Zhejiang University international students from Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, and Russia, made their way to the second court. Soon, in the men's double, a pair of Malaysian players were the first to play. Having met their friendly competitors from the City Express, the players shook hands before the game. The team members, spectators, and photographers from both sides gathered around the court, waiting for the referee to start the game.
Pretty soon, the first shuttlecock rose in the air and the gym was filled with slashing-and-smashing sounds and cheerful cries. Five games on the other courts were also started. The competitions did not stop until lunch break. After the last two pairs shook hands at the end of their matches and were congratulated by their teammates, all the players started a well-deserved rest.
In the afternoon, the competition atmosphere was reheated. A group of Indian players from the Hangzhou Shuttle Whackers were sitting on the floor in front of a court where their two teammates were competing. The middle-aged men gladly cheered for their compatriots and from time to time kindly giggled at some laughable moments.
Thavakumar, one of them, delightedly explained that most of his teammates had moved to China for work quite a long time ago. To enrich their lives and keep fit, they built the Hangzhou Shuttle Whackers community, organizing tournaments among the Indians living in the nearby cities. Talking about the Union Cup, the Indian players agreed that they appreciated the opportunity to compete with players with good skills, "we find out our weaknesses through competitions and try to improve them."
Finally, when the competition came to the end and the winners and participants were awarded, I looked around and saw the smiling faces of the tired but satisfied badminton lovers from different countries and the excited audience, who came to watch their beloved ones to play. At that moment, I realized that sports spirit and cultural diversity are the two wonderful things that the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games brings to the city and its residents.