BEIJING, 18 May 2005 — After cruising to a fifth Sudirman Cup triumph, China’s continued dominance of world badminton is putting the sport at risk of Olympic extinction, the China Daily said yesterday. The nation’s victory over Indonesia in Sunday’s final also marked a third straight international team title, with the Thomas and Uber Cups already in China’s hands.
The paper’s commentary added that shrinking audiences outside the handful of Asian and European countries that ruled the sport, had earned it a place on the International Olympic Committee’s list of events that could be dropped from the 2012 Games.
“Unless the badminton superpowers give up their selfish agenda to sustain their dominance, they will have to see one of their favourite sports dropped from the Olympic list,” it said.
Badminton’s governing body, the IBF, is pushing to widen the sport’s appeal by allowing 50 countries to participate at the 2008 Games in Beijing, up from 32 in Athens. However, previous efforts to make the sport more competitive had been blocked by badminton superpowers like China, South Korea and Indonesia, the commentary added.
