CHINA LEAGUE – Halfway through…

The China League first round robin stage is over which means the new version of the China Interclubs is halfway done. Zhu Lin bounced back while superb Lin Dan continues his unbeaten record as Qingdao and Jiangsu lead the way.

By Kevin Kung, Badzine Correspondent in Hong Kong with the help of Lee Suet Yuan. Photo: Badmintonphoto (archives)

The China Badminton League (CBL) is halfway done after a total of 7 rounds to complete the whole round robin. Of course, as expected, some of the matches feature re-matches of world class events, with Lin Dan taking on Bao Chunlai (photo) earlier this spring, and in the latest ties, this past weekend, Zhu Lin and Wang Xin played against each other.

Surprisingly, former world champion Zhu Lin had good performance despite her absence from international tournaments for over half a year. She only played one match for Shanghai and managed to beat the world number two Wang Xin (pictured top)  in three sets last Sunday.

Qingdao and Jiangsu both won 6 and lost 1 match to get ahead of the other teams while Shanghai lost all its matches.

There are two best performers in the previous matches. Lin Dan and Jiang Yanjiao, who are both playing for Chinese People’s Liberation Army team (PLA), remain unbeaten after 7 rounds. Reigning world number one Wang Yihan only won one match and lost the other five.

The second half of this season starts this June 24th, with a lot of expectation from this new league, ongoing while the rest of the world takes advantage of China’s absence to score Super Series and Grand Prix points. Stay tuned on Badzine for updates on the CBL.

Current standing of teams in China Badminton League:

1.    Qingdao
2.    Jiangsu
3.    Chinese People’s Liberation Army
4.    Zhejiang
5.    Hunan
6.    Hubei
7.    Guangzhou
8.    Shanghai

Composition of each team:

Guangzhou:
Doubles: Guo Zhendong, Hong Wei, Gan Zhaolong, Zhang Jinkang, Zhang Jiewen, Zhong Qianxin
Singles:Wang Zhengming, Liu Xin

Hubei:
Doubles: Yu Yang, Wang Xiaoli, Rao Yuqiang, Ding Yang, Li Rui, Zhao Yunlei, Li Junyang
Singles: Li Wen, Wen Kai, Chen Yuekun

Hunan:
Doubles: Zheng Bo, Tian Qing, Xia Huan, Chai Biao, Zhang Wen, Liu Peixuan, Bao Yixin
Singles: Shi Xiaoqian, Bao Chunlai, Chen Xiaojia

Jiangsu:
Doubles: Tian Jinhua, Cheng Shu, Cai Yun, Xu Chen (photo), Tao Jiaming, Sun Xiaoli
Singles: Lu Lan, Wang Shixian, Chen Jin, Li Yu, Qiu Yanbo

PLA:
Doubles: He Hanbin, Feng Chen, Pan Pan, Li Xuerui, He Hangqing, Li Gen
Singles: Lin Dan, Jiang Yanjiao

Zhejiang:
Doubles: Sang Yan, Zhang Nan, Zhang Yawen, Zhou Hui
Singles: Wang Lin, Du Pengyu, HuangYuxiang

Qingdao:
Doubles: Qiu Zhihan, Ma Jin, Du Jing, Fu Haifeng, Shen Ye, Luo Yu
Singles: Zhou Wenlong, Wang Xin, Liu Jingru

Shanghai:
Doubles: Chen Zhiben, Xie Jing, Liu Yingchun, Yu Hao, Yu Junjie, Shi Hong, Hu Minyu
Singles: Chen Long, Wang Yihan, Zhu Lin, Lu Qicheng