China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Wang Hao
At the “2025 Yuntian Cup·Badminton Invitational Tournament” held recently in Huining, Gansu Province, badminton world champion He Bingjiao completed a special interaction-in one day, she signed autographs for more than 700 primary and secondary school students who came here. “The children gathered around me. Some wanted to shake hands, and some asked about their playing skills. The pure enthusiasm for sports was touching.” He Bingjiao said.
The world champion born after 1995 went to Gansu for the second consecutive year to fulfill her agreement on “small ball” with rural children. She hopes that “light sports” such as badminton and pickleball, which are low-intensity, slow-paced, easy to participate in and have little physical burden, will add vitality to the growth of young people.
The racket is shaped like a table tennis racket, and the ball has the lightness of a badminton and the stability of a shuttlecock. The play style is similar to badminton, but easier to use – this is pad badminton. Today, driven by He Bingjiao and others, this movement has covered more than 80% of small rural schools in the county.
At the invitational tournament, 142 students and 45 teachers from 26 primary schools in Huining County competed together. Events such as ball throwing, passing, and sparring were carried out in sequence, with cheers and cheers rising one after another. Outside the competition field, more than 8,000 teachers and students from 52 project schools in the county have passed nearly 300 weekly challenges, gradually forming a virtuous cycle of “learn, practice diligently, and compete regularly”.
“Badminton has the characteristics of ‘low cost, small time, small venue, and small confrontation’, which is very suitable for the actual situation of rural schools. It is a good carrier to promote ‘micro-sports’ and family parent-child activities between classes.” Gao Jianping, deputy director of the Huining County Education Bureau, said that the project has brought positive changes to the development of the school and the growth of teachers and students.
There are only 29 students in Gaoling Primary School in Zhongchuan Town. The sports venues are relatively simple and there are insufficient sports equipment. The introduction of badminton has changed the situation where the content of physical education classes in schools is relatively simple.
“Children can now move around anytime and anywhere. They don’t need complicated technology. They can do it as long as they have space and time.” Physical education teacher Lian Jinhua said that exercise not only exercises the body, but also stimulates students’ learning motivation.
Xiaoyan (pseudonym), a student at the school, was originally introverted and often had trouble reciting texts fluently. The teacher noticed that she was particularly focused when playing ball, and guided her to use this concentration in her studies. After a while, Xiaoyan was not only able to recite fluently, but also dared to speak proactively in class.
Children participate in weekly competitions in school, and their results are uploaded to the online community. They communicate with more than 200 project schools across the country to understand the level of their peers. In some special competitions, students who actively participate and rank high will also receive prizes from charity organizations, which gives children a clearer sense of goal. In Gaoling Primary School, a student realized his “small wish” of buying new clothes for his family through hard work.
Dangjia’s Xian Township has a relatively high terrain, and the locals often jokingly call it the “Qinghai-Tibet Plateau” of Huining. “I work five days a week, and the wind blows for four and a half days.” He Jinxia, a teacher at Dangjia Xianxiang Central Primary School, is a contestant in the teaching group. She recalled that in the past when outdoor sports were carried out, the ball would go astray when the wind blew. The teachers and students were tired of running but had difficulty catching the ball, and their interest in exercise gradually faded. Badminton solves this problem – it can be played in corridors and classrooms with a few square meters of space, and the wind does not affect the game, and it has quickly become the most popular activity between classes.
“My students and I ‘partnered’ and could play thousands of rounds in 10 minutes. It was very enjoyable.” He Jinxia said that the common sports interests also added more topics for communication between teachers and students.
The enthusiasm of the participating children was equally impressive. As the host player, Chen Zeyu, a student from New Taipei Primary School, competed in his home gym. He became more and more courageous as he fought, and his single ball hit exceeded the 1,000 mark for the first time. After the game, he was eager to share his joy with his parents: “At home, they help me count and practice with me. This new record is also due to them.”
Pang Jianing from Zhaijiasuo Town Central Primary School won the first place in the men’s sparring group, holding the golden trophy. He planned to “hide the honor” first, pretend that he “didn’t perform well”, and then give his family a surprise. He Yating from Gaoling Primary School was unable to fully perform due to the tension of changing venues, but she planned to write down what she saw that day in a composition: “I was moved by everyone’s perseverance. I shed tears because of the results, which made me look a little fragile.”
“Sports should be at the C position of moral, intellectual, physical, artistic and laboring. Without a good body, how can we achieve good results?” said the relevant person in charge of the Huining County Education Bureau, hoping that through such events, we can explore a “light sports” promotion model that does not require high investment, is easy to carry out continuously and can be replicated.
The transmission of sportsmanship runs throughout the event. At Xinbei Primary School, the “base camp” of the shuttlecock program in Huining County, He Bingjiao shared her experience in preparing for the Paris Olympics: “Every game for athletes is like every test for everyone. It is normal to feel hard and nervous during review. The key is to pay attention to every class and every assignment, and do a solid job in the process, so that there will be no regrets in the results.”
During the event, New Taipei Primary School principal Wang Zhijie issued a letter of appointment to He Bingjiao, hiring her as the school’s physical education guidance principal. “Once the seeds of sportsmanship are sown, it will surely inspire children to bravely pursue their dreams in every arena of life, and grow into people with strong bodies, full spirits, warmth and structure.” Wang Zhijie said.
At Huining County No. 2 Middle School, He Bingjiao competed with high school students from the badminton club on the spot and answered professional questions about ball sports. She said: “Sports has taught me not just winning, but also how to respect opponents and face victory or defeat.”
Seeing the performance of the students, Sun Fuqiang, the vice principal of Huining No. 2 Middle School, was deeply touched. Practice has proven that rich physical activities not only do not affect academic performance, but help relieve stress and sharpen will, thereby improving learning efficiency. “We just want children to have light in their eyes, sweat on their bodies, strength on their feet, and dreams in their hearts,” he said.
The enthusiasm of teachers and students in Huining for sports also gave He Bingjiao positive feedback. She felt that the level of the players in this competition had significantly improved, and the children’s questions were very professional. “This made me re-examine the diverse values brought by sports.”
“In the next step, we will focus on making up for the shortcomings of physical education teachers in rural schools and optimizing the physical education classroom teaching model through teacher training, internship teaching for college students, etc.; we will continue to invite sports role models to campus to play a demonstration and motivational role.” Chen Weizheng, director of the Huining County Education Bureau, said that “sports” should be used as an important starting point for the high-quality development of education in the new era.
