Chongqing Badminton: Boosting the Sports Industry

　　Chongqing Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference member suggested: Small badminton “create” a big sports industry

China News Service, Chongqing, January 31 (Guo Hong, Zhang Junyao) During the two sessions of Chongqing in 2026, the sports industry has become a hot topic. Several members of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference pointed out that the sports industry is not only an important starting point for serving the construction of an international consumption center city, but also expected to become a new engine for economic growth. Among them, Chongqing’s badminton industry has attracted much attention due to its unique advantages and development potential.

Liu Hu, a member of the Chongqing CPPCC and deputy secretary-general and office director of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Zhi Gong Party, said in the proposal that Chongqing has three major advantages in developing the badminton industry: First, it has a deep accumulation of talents, which has produced world champions such as Zhang Yawen and Li Xuerui, forming the “Chongqing Badminton Champion Matrix”; second, the industrial base has begun to take shape, and Rongchang District has introduced it through the “braised goose industry + sports investment” model. Feiyu Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. has an annual output of 120 million badmintons and an annual output value of 200 million yuan. It has become the largest badminton production base in Southwest China. Third, the policy support is clear. The “14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Chongqing Sports Industry” clearly proposes “creating characteristic sports industry clusters” and lists advantageous projects such as badminton as key development areas to provide policy support for industrial upgrading. As a national sport, badminton has a huge mass base in China.

Liu Hu told reporters that according to the “2025 National Fitness Activities Survey Bulletin” issued by the National Physical Fitness Monitoring Center, badminton is one of the sports with the largest number of participants in China, with a sports population of 250 million. With the in-depth implementation of the national fitness strategy, the number of Chinese badminton participants will continue to increase, and the demand for equipment will continue to grow. If Chongqing can seize this opportunity and create a badminton industry ecosystem integrating R&D, production, competitions, and training, it is expected to form a new economic growth point and effectively promote the construction of a strong sports city.

However, Chongqing’s badminton industry still faces challenges such as an incomplete industrial chain, insufficient brand influence, and insufficient policy coordination. Liu Hu suggested that the value of championship IP should be deeply developed, the integration of “sports + cultural tourism” should be promoted, championship-themed travel routes should be designed, and cultural display areas should be set up to enhance industry recognition.

While paying attention to the development of the badminton industry, Li Xuerui, a member of the Chongqing CPPCC and badminton Olympic champion, has also set his sights on the construction of sports teachers. As an associate professor at the School of Physical Education of Chongqing University, she believes that guiding outstanding retired athletes to teach in primary and secondary schools is of great significance to deepening the integration of physical education, improving the quality of campus sports, and helping to build a modern sports city.

It is understood that the “Li Xuerui Cup” Amateur Badminton Open, organized by the Chongqing Municipal Government, has been held for 12 consecutive years and has attracted more than 10,000 players to participate. It has become one of the most influential and competitive amateur badminton brand events in Southwest China. Li Xuerui said that in the future, the classification of events will be refined, the quality will be improved, the integrated development of “venues + events” will be promoted, and the linkage between the Chengdu and Chongqing Badminton Associations will be strengthened.

The 2026 Chongqing Municipal Sports Work Conference proposed that the city will continue to stimulate new momentum in the sports industry and deepen industrial integration. Looking forward to the future, the badminton industry is expected to build a new benchmark for the sports industry in the western region based on the path of “championship leadership, industry support, brand resounding, and mass participation”, and inject continuous impetus into building a strong sports city and an international consumption center city. (over)