The Aviva-Cofco China Masters badminton tournament took place for the second year, from 8 to 12 March, this time in the Sichuan capital city of Chengdu.
The Aviva-Cofco China Masters badminton tournament took place for the second year, from 8 to 12 March, this time in the Sichuan capital city of Chengdu.
Aviva-Cofco reinforced its market-leading position as the top foreign insurer in Chengdu by bringing the prestigious six-star badminton tournament to the city.
Sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation and organised by the China Badminton Association and Sichuan Sports Bureau, the tournament offers a prize purse of $250,000, the highest within the badminton Grand Prix circuit.
Chen Jin emerged victorious over Peter Gade, after a nail-biting final featuring six match points in Chen Jin's favour. Wang Lin defeated world champion Xie Xingfang to take the women's gold. The Danish duo, Martin Lundgaard and Jens Eriksen, were the only internationals to hold the Chinese team at bay, in men's doubles.
Attracting the world's top-class players, this tournament also delighted Chengdu residents, who for the first time witnessed an international badminton event on home ground. A key highlight was the new 3x21 rally point scoring system. This new system has been introduced to enhance the excitement and intensity of the game.
Badminton is the most popular racket sport in markets such as China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. There are more than 225 million registered players in the world, and China has 75% of the world's badminton playing population.
Broadcasts of the Aviva-Cofco China Masters 2006 reached more than 150 million homes in Asia.