Chinese badminton team's head coach Li Yongbo looked delighted
as he knew on Monday the competition at the Doha Asian Games had
been rescheduled.
The Chinese team arrived at Doha International Airport at 7 a.m.
Monday. Several hours later, Li was told by the umpire that the
team semifinals and finals would not be played in the same day, but
in two days.
"I'm very happy to know that. It's good news," said Li, who had
blasted at the former schedule as a "big joke".
The previous schedule had put the team semifinals and finals on
Dec. 5. Li had said bluntly that it was "the most unreasonable
schedule" he had ever seen.
"Badminton competition demands physical strength," said the head
coach. "For Chinese players, two matches a day is too hard to
stand, let alone playing the singles and doubles events the next
day."
To Li's delight, the team semifinals will take place on Dec. 4
and finals on Dec. 5. He believed his 16-member contingent would
fine-tune in two days.
China is the biggest winner at the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2005
Madrid World Championships as the dream team collected three and
four golds respectively.
The traditional powerhouse, however, took only two out of seven
golds at the Busan Asian Games in 2002. Four years around, Chinese
shuttlers will vie for at least three titles, said Li.
(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2006)