[Saba Sports News] On China’s largest badminton forum, controversy over the Chinese team’s entry list for the Badminton Asia Championships has drawn attention and become a hot topic among fans. The dispute centers on the men’s doubles event. According to China’s announced entries for the 2026 Badminton Asia Championships, four pairs were named: Liang Weikeng / Wang Chang, Chen Boyang / Liu Yi, Hu Keyuan / Lin Xiangyi, and He Jiting / Ren Xiangyu. Liang/Wang and Chen/Liu, both ranked inside the world top 10, drew no real question, but criticism focused on the young pairing Hu Keyuan / Lin Xiangyi and the newly reformed pairing He Jiting / Ren Xiangyu.
Because the Asia Championships use an invitation system, the Badminton Asia Confederation issues invitations based on world rankings, starting from the highest-ranked players until the quota is filled. That means after Liang/Wang and Chen/Liu, the Chinese pairs that should have been invited were Liu Yang / Huang Huo (ranked 34th) and Zeng Weihan / Xie Haonan (ranked 47th). Only if those pairs declined would other Chinese pairs ranked below them be called up. This time, the Chinese badminton team’s decision to have two higher-ranked pairs forgo the opportunity so that lower-ranked teammates could take their places has triggered the controversy.
The editor believes the core issue here is the fairness and transparency of China’s internal selection mechanism and entry standards. The lack of openness in the selection process is what has fueled public suspicion that higher-ranked players may have been unjustly overlooked.