The Zhejiang University International students Badminton tournament came to a successful end on the 30th of April, 2017 at the Yuquan Campus Sports Arena. This tournament was hosted by the International College, and organized by the Malaysian Student Union (MSAZU). It consisted two stages, starting with a round robin tournament and then finishing with an elimination round. 65 students participated in this year's tournament, and represented a total of 12 countries.

Year by year the procedures and structure of the tournament have improved, thereby promoting an increasingly more impressive selection and diversity of participants.  The single players kept the audience in awe, with trick serves, and swift attacks, and also some flexible footwork. As the matches advanced into the later rounds, the intensity grew to meet the stakes. The men��s doubles finals featured opponents with equally intimidating strengths. Chin Wen Jie and Sutthiwit Panchaisee dominated the first round, winning 21 to 14, and demonstrating their heightened understanding of the game. In the following set the team of Hemanth and Joshua Sutikno earned a hard fought 21 to 16 victory.

In the deciding set, the two championship round teams fought it out in a close back and forth match, too close to call until the very end when Hemanth and Joshua claimed a tight victory of 21 to 19. After two days of high-paced and exciting Badminton competition, with masterful skill and some highlight-reel worthy maneuvers, 121 games had been called in total in the round robin and elimination rounds. The victors were as follows:

Malaysian Li Zhiyu and Zhong Mingfang won the men and women singles champion. For the mixed doubles, the champions were the Malaysian duo of Li Zhiyu and Zhong Mingfang. Mens Doubles champions were Joshua Sutikno, of Indonesia, and Hemanth, of India. The championship in the Women's Doubles Tournament was claimed by the team of Irene Vun and Tan Win Yen of Malaysia.

The International Students Office issued awards and certificates to the winning players. The organizers of the tournament were also honored with awards for their diligent work in putting on such an impressive, efficient, and high-quality tournament.

The International Students Office's intentions for bestowing such a variety of recognition and awards upon the event organizers is to encourage the students at the International College to be more active and to continue to strive for a more well-rounded and balanced lifestyle.

The Annual Badminton Tournament has become a showcase not only of great players and amazing feats on the courts, but also of the quality of students, and the friends of the university, who all come together to make this tournament a success. The Badminton Tournament continues to promote a comradery between peoples of different countries, languages, and backgrounds that oftentimes share nothing but a love of the game.

Author: Zhang Yubin              Photographer: Tan Shujia