Olympic qualification points matters at China Open
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Xinhua, November 22, 2011
For the Chinese badminton players at the upcoming China Open, Olympic qualification points matters rather than the medals, according to the head coach of the Chinese team.
"The China Open is very important in the build-up to London 2012. Our goal at this stage is to obtain as many ranking points as possible, not just bag home medals," Li Yongbo told reporters on Tuesday.
"Almost all the world top eight players in five disciplines have come to Shanghai this time, so it provides a great chance for us to gain more experience ahead of the London Olympics."
Three Chinese players - Lu Yi, Qiao Bin and Wen Kai shuttled into the men's singles main draw after Tuesday's qualification competition, and three other Chinese hopefuls - Yao Xue, Chen Xiaojia and Han Li advanced into women's singles.
Both Ayane Kurihara of Japan and Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei quit from the women's singles competition, but the reasons are unknown right now. As a result, Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand and Nichole Grether of Canada will play in the main draw as lucky losers.
The China Open is the last BWF Superseries Premier stop ahead of the Superseries Finals. Sharing the same score system with the BWF Superseries Finals, the China Open offers 11,000 points for the champions and 9,350 for the runners-up.
