Amateur badminton event kicks off in Dali

The LYB World Amateur Badminton Championship began its new leg in Dali Bai autonomous prefecture of Southwest China's Yunnan province on Saturday to boost the sport at a grassroots level all over the world.

The two-day competition, named after China's former badminton head coach Li Yongbo, gathered more than 600 domestic and international badminton enthusiasts in different age groups, including individuals from Hong Kong, Macao, the US and Australia, and adopted the latest version of the rules by the China Badminton Association and Badminton World Federation.

Li Yongbo, now serving as a consultant for the China Badminton Association, showed up at the competition, along with his former world champion players Cai Yun, Fu Haifeng, Du Jing, Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai.

The amateur competition, together with the professional organization, aims to grow the sport at the grassroots levels and enhance people-to-people exchanges to achieve social harmony, said Li at the opening ceremony of the competition.

Dali is featured as one of the country's tour destinations, with tremendous natural and cultural resources. The prefecture aims to further integrate the sport with tourism after the badminton competition to achieve fitness for all, according to Zou Ziqing, vice-governor of the prefecture.

The competition was organized by Beijing Longju Sport Ltd, a company focusing on badminton tournaments and court operations.