Hi all! I'm not sure if this is a good place to ask but I wanted to try anyways. I am planning to go to Tianjin this year for the national games for the first time. Has anybody been to the even before? If so, do you know how I can purchase tickets? And I would also love to hear about your experiences going to the games! Thank you!
It's very proactive of you. The ticket service link on the official website is not even operational yet: http://www.tianjin2017.gov.cn/
I went before in 2001. It was fun! Buying tickets was very primitive. We had to queue up at a table, actually it was no queue. It was a crowd around a table and you just had to push in. Yup, no ticket office, no Internet bookings, no website. The system must be very different now. Be careful of scalpers. It's a big industry in China for reselling tickets and not solely to sports. I even saw reselling for places in queues for hospital outpatients (system is quite different)
You guys are wonderful! Thanks for all the helpful information and the warning for scalpers! My chinese is a little rusty but could someone please let me know when the badminton dates are? And I am assuming the players and provincial teams have not been announced yet. I really want to see some players before they officially retire (Ma Jin in particular) and I am flying from the USA so it would be difficult otherwise. Thank you guys again for your help
Can't find a time table yet. At the last National Games, badminton competition lasted from the second day to the second last day of the National Games. This time is probably similar. Team competition will go first, followed by individual events. The National Games will go from August 27 to September 8. Rosters are not set yet. But traditionally, retiring players play their last matches at the National Games as thanks to the local sports systems that nurtured them.
Actually, there is a time table at http://att.enorth.com.cn/003/026/324/00302632478_64da63af.xls According to this time table, the competition starts on August 30. Team finals are on September 3 and individual finals are on September 8. The competition will take place at Tianjin Polytechnic University Gymnasium.
The China National Games starts on 30th, almost immediately after the Glasgow World Championships which ends on the 27th. Those in the finals of the WC will have to take the next flight back to China immediately and get over their jetlag; the young and less travelled ones will suffer as they are still not quite used to travelling across multiple timezones.
At the CNG we will get to see all the recently retired players in action. It's equivalent to China's mini-Olympic games and all the athletes want to repay their provinces and municipalities for their support and patronage and bring honours and glories to where they represent. The CNG is a big national event held quadrennially and nobody wants to miss it.
Thanks for you guys help! I hope it's not too difficult to get too. Does anybody know what province Ma Jin will play for? I hope she plays XD and WD so I have more chances to see her play I will only be there for the qualification rounds though since I will probably have a better chance of seeing all the players
Ma Jin plays for ShanDong. JiangSu had too many good prospects and dropped Ma Jin. ShanDong was wise enough to pick her up when she was only 12. In 2009 National Games, Ma Jin actually played a singles match in the team competition and won 19-21, 22-20 and 21-13.
Aside from Ma Jin, who are other internationally-retired players to participate? Will ZYL play? TQ? Has she recovered from injury? Others?
Yes, Ma Jin, Zhao Yunlei, Wang Yihan, Wang Shixian, Tang Yuanting can be taken as confirmed participants. Tian Qing, doubtful because of her injury. Who knows, maybe Wang Zhenming too, and perhaps,Li Xuerui if she feels up to it by then, five months away, it's possible. Anyway, as RedShuttle said, no official entry list yet.
For the real badminton buffs, the qualification tournament will take place from July 11 to July 20, in FoShan, GuangDong, just a couple hours away from Hong Kong. Top 12 teams and top 16 players/pairs qualify for the final stage. Medalists from the Rio Olympics automatically qualify for the final stage.
Automatically qualify? Meaning ZN and ZYL automatically as a pair? Or they are qualified and it's still up to them to choose what they are playing?
Inter-team entries are allowed. So ZN and FHF can enter as a pair if both of the their teams so choose. In the past, for the individual events, a giant knock-out table is drawn up at the very beginning. Matches will stop after the round of 32, with the remaining matches to take place during the final stage. Automatic qualifiers get byes into the round of 16 directly. It is probably the same this time around.
The latest news report is saying that qualification tournament will take place from July 1 to July 11 instead. Some 500 badminton players will participate in the qualifying rounds of team and competitions.
