On November 23rd, Tsinghua’s mixed doubles team took home second place in the “Lai Hua” Cup, Beijing Universities International Students Badminton Competition.

Mixed doubles prize presentation ceremony

After making it through the group stage and then the elimination rounds, Tsinghua university students Annan Lisong from Canada, and Xinyen Liew from Malaysia, made it to the mixed doubles final. They played against the international student team from the University of Science and Technology Beijing. Together they fought a close and exciting match, ending up as runner ups.

The mixed doubles team was made up of Annan Lisong - an exchange student and Tsinghua captain of this year’s badminton competition, and Xinyen Liew - a first year undergraduate student. Both are studying at the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua.

Annan Lisong and Xinyen Liew with their runners-up award

“I feel tremendous pride in our team, every team member has demonstrated high levels of integrity and sportsmanship. On and off the court our team was humble in victory, and resilient in defeat. During the tournament, there was an unspoken respect for your opponent because unlike strangers abroad, our competitors shared mutual interest in Chinese language, culture, and have a passion for badminton. Through this brief Saturday afternoon tournament, we built comradery between our competitors and friendship between teammates which will last the rest of our lives. For every point in every match, it has been an honor to fight for Tsinghua.”

（Remarks from this year’s badminton competition Tsinghua captain, Annan Lisong.）

“I appreciate that I have a wonderful campus life in Tsinghua University. In the spare time of the hustle first year of undergraduate, I was really glad that I have the chance to practice my interest. Even though the opponents of final are quite professional and experienced, I still have a little bit of disappointment as I thought I could play better. Besides, I will summarize this precious experience and always be prepared for the next competition. I’d also like to express my gratitude towards the encouragement and consideration of teachers, who gave me a lot of motivation.”

（Remarks from mixed doubles player, Xinyen Liew. ）

Group photo of the Tsinghua team

The “Lai Hua” Cup, Beijing Universities International Students Badminton Competition was sponsored by the International Students Research Branch of the Beijing Higher Education Association and was held at the gymnasium of the Beijing Foreign Studies University. The completion was separated into men’s and women’s singles, and mixed doubles, with a total of 97 participants and 17 mixed doubles teams coming from 22 different universities in Beijing. Mr. LI Bing, director of the International Students Office at Beijing Foreign Studies University remarked that this year’s competition saw more participants than ever and a high level of enthusiasm for the tournament.

As part of the “Lai Hua” Cup, the Beijing Universities International Student Affairs Administrators Badminton Competition was also held concurrently, which saw a total of 19 universities participating with teams in the mixed doubles. During the tournament, Mr. TIE Changsheng, Secretary-general of the International Students Research Branch of the Beijing Higher Education Association encouraged participants to enjoy and relish sports and fitness to keep fit and lead a healthy and productive life.

Four international students and two staff members from the International Students & Scholars Center (ISSC) participated in this year’s competition, with one staff member from ISSC as the team coordinator. Ms. ZHANG Li, Deputy Director of ISSC, also attended the competition to show her support. By taking part in the competition, ISSC can build greater connections with international students and strengthen cooperation and exchange with international student affairs staff from other universities in Beijing. The competition also helps to enhance exchange between international students in Beijing and promote the building of an international community.