Chinese badminton veteran Zhang Jun to run for BWF vice president

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Two-time badminton Olympic gold medalist Zhang Jun confirmed on Monday that he will run in the BWF vice presidential election.

Zhang, president of the Chinese Badminton Association, will compete with Khunying Patama, his counterpart from Badminton Association of Thailand and Anton Aditya Subowo, president of Badminton Asia, to run for the position.

"China has always been willing to be involved in the planning and work of the BWF and is dedicated to helping with the development of the sport around the world. This is why I decided to join the campaign," Zhang said.

Zhang Jun was appointed as the chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association, January 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

The 42-year-old partnered with Gao Ling to capture his first Olympic mixed doubles gold in Sydney 2000 and defended the title four years later in Athens.

The BWF will vote for the winning candidate in May, during the Sudirman Cup tournament in Nanning, the capital city of south China‘s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The world governing body of badminton accepted the resignation of its former vice president Gustavo Salazar Delgado due to "personal reasons unrelated to BWF business" in June last year, which caused the vacancy of the position.

So far, former Chinese badminton star Tang Jiuhong, who won the bronze medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, was the only Chinese at the BWF Council. As the vice president of the Chinese Badminton Association since 2004, Tang was elected to the BWF Council on May 2017 as the deputy chair of the Events Committee in the BWF.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency