GULU Badminton Championship Recap

On March 30, the 2019 GULU Badminton Championship, co-hosted by the GULU Badminton Club and ShanghaiPRIDE, had a successful run in Qingliu Middle School Badminton Gym in Pudong. The event is dedicated to the LGBTQ community and our allies!

The theme this year was “Vitality with Pride.” Sixteen pairs of women’s doubles and 8 pairs of mixed doubles entered the championship. In total, there were 48 participants.

Matches began at 10 AM, after players arrived for registration and warm-up. The women’s double teams played through a group stage, before proceeding to knockout rounds. The mixed-doubles teams jumped directly into knockout rounds. The audience cheered the players’ overhead smashes, lobs, and volleys.

After fierce competition, four teams rose above the rest in women’s doubles. Jerry and Xiao Xiao vs. Sky and Alex brought the most thrilling match to the semi-finals. The two teams were equally matched, move for move, technique for technique. In the end, Sky and Alex won the match 15-13, and entered the finals. In the other match, Fusu and You You overpowered Cat and Tuan Tuan to win a spot in the finals. Fusu and You You came out on top again in the finals, two rounds to nil, and were crowned champions in the women’s double category.

The mixed doubles games were equally exciting. After a series of intense matches, the finals saw Shaw and A Wen acing Tuan Tuan and Fei Yang. Shaw and A Wen finally triumphed 2 rounds to 1 to win the mixed doubles category.

This event showed the energy of the LGBTQ community. Players and staff alike showed their dedication and efforts. Friends and spectators were on their feet, ready to jump into a match themselves. After the championship, many players showed their support for the event as well as their hope to see more events like this in the coming years.

Everyone who entered the event received imported Belgian honey provided by the sponsor, and a ShanghaiPRIDE rainbow button badge.

Many thanks to our sponsors for providing prizes for the first and second place teams: Auderghem supplied Belgian chocolate for the winners, while Permaculture Land offered colored rice and wild tea from the Wuyi Mountains for the silver medalists.