Gong Ruina, a veteran badminton player who won the ladies’ singles title at the 12th World Championships, has joined hands on March 12 with the Shenzhen OCT Primary School in Nanshan District and initiated a badminton training base and level examinations targeting youngsters. At the unveiling ceremony, Gong shared with students at the school about her perspectives and passion for badminton. She said that with the training base, there will be more professional coaches to help with the school’s badminton development and improve students’ badminton skills. According to the school principal Wang Zhihui, badminton has long been a strong sport at the school. Wang added that the school has incorporated the badminton program into physical education by opening a special badminton course in the first grade to ensure that each class has one badminton lesson per week. In October 2019, the Shenzhen OCT Primary School won the seventh place and the Sportsmanship Award in the Nanshan District Education System Staff Badminton Tournament. “I hope this training base can help enhance our students’ skills, better their sportsmanship, and help them become lifelong fans of sports,” Wang said. Gong was a champion of the FIBA Uber Cup for three consecutive seasons and the Women’s Team Champion of the National Games. After retirement, she received a master’s degree in physical training at Beijing Sport University. She was also a visiting scholar at the University of Wisconsin, a member of the Standing Committee of the Youth Committee of the China Badminton Association and a senior national badminton coach. (Yang Mei) | 