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SCNU undergraduate Liang Weikeng won the championship of the 2023 Sudirman Cup World Badminton Mixed Team Championship for the Chinese National Badminton team on May 21, adding one more world champion to SCNU’s impressive list of achievers.
Liang Weikeng, an undergraduate at the School of Physical Education and Sports Science, 2019 cohort, competed in the Men’s Doubles in the championship. He and his partner, Wang Chang, had been selected to the lineup in Men’s Doubles three times, but the excellent performance of their team mates ensured that they only needed to appear on the court once to secure the victory. Their achievement also makes Liang Weikeng the ninth world champion on a badminton court in Guangzhou after a wait of 15 years.
Liang Weikeng (second from the right) lifts the trophy at the award ceremony.
Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang were in the lineup for the first time in the second round of the group match. Despite facing unfamiliar opponents in World Badminton Mixed Team Championship for the first time, they showed remarkable competence by fighting hard even after they had lost the first game. They turned the tables on their opponents and won the following two games, gaining a victory in the competition against the Singapore team.
Wang Chang (left) and Liang Weikeng (right) pose for a photo with their medals and trophy.
“We were a little anxious when we outscored our opponents and were thinking about winning the game quickly, but it made our performance less smooth,” reflected Liang Weikeng in the post-match interview. Thanks to the full preparations before the games and the communications with the coaches in between games, they adjusted their mindset quickly, withstood the fierce attack from their opponents in the second and third games and brought their own advantages into full play later on. In the end, they secured one more point for the Chinese National Badminton team and made a successful debut in their personal careers at the Sudirman Cup.
Both Pang Wenqi and Xiao Ting, coaches of SCNU’s badminton team, think highly of Liang Weikeng. Xiao Ting says that Liang Weikeng is flexible in playing badminton and has significantly improved his capacity and techniques over the years. Talking about his studies, the other coach, Pang Wenqi, says:“Although he is busy with his training, he takes his studies and graduation thesis seriously, often discussing the details of his thesis with me.”
The Sudirman Cup is a world mixed-team championship which takes place every two years. It involves matches of Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles in one championship, which is a test of the comprehensive strength of a team. In the past 18 championships, the Chinese National Badminton team has won 13 championships and achieved three successive championships in the Sudirman Cup.
Source from SCNU News Center
Translated by Liang Lihua, Long Yuchen
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Wang Yingmin
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