CHINESE CHAMPION RIGHT ON Q
THE sky really is the limit for Chinese badminton young gun Shi Yuqi.
Shi, ranked number five in the world, is part of the national team defending its world title at the Sudirman Cup on the Gold Coast this week. It is being televised to about 500 million people.
Yesterday, the top Chinese player took a break from training and completed Q1’s SkyPoint Climb.
“The view is very beautiful and very natural and the air was so clean,” Shi, 21, said.
“I am enjoying the Gold Coast very much. I have never done anything like that climb before. It was really thrilling.”
In his home country where badminton is a blue-ribbon sport, Shi is held to celebrity status and would have been “mobbed” walking down the street. Here, he can walk freely without the onlookers.
In March, Shi, a former Youth Olympic champion, signalled his arrival on the main stage when he dethroned three-time Olympic gold medallist Lin “Super Dan” Dan as All England Open champion.
The Sudirman Cup runs until May 28 at the new Commonwealth Games venue, the Gold Coast Sports & Leisure Centre, Carrara.