From October 9^th to 14^th, 2026, the 2026 Guangdong University Badminton Championship, hosted by the Department of Education of Guangdong Province, was held at the gymnasium of the University Town campus of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. The Southern University of Science and Technology’s (SUSTech) badminton team achieved a historic success in the Men’s Doubles Group A event, with Xufei ZHU and Weiming CHEN securing the runner-up position, setting the best Men’s Doubles result for SUSTech in the Guangdong University Badminton Championship. With a total of seven points accumulated from each event, SUSTech ranked tenth in the Group A team standings, winning the Group A team third prize.

Group photo of the SUSTech team at the competition

This event was hosted by the Department of Education of Guangdong Province, organized by Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, co-organized by the Guangdong School Badminton Association, and sponsored by Yonex (Shanghai) Sports Co., Ltd. The A-group competition attracted athletes from dozens of undergraduate universities across the province. SUSTech’s team was led by Lunhong DONG from the Sports Center, with Yu SUN and Yumin ZENG as coaches. The players included Zhuoyun LI, Hongsheng LUO, Xufei ZHU, Weiming CHEN, Xinhao CHEN, Ziyi FANG, Aofei SANG, Yining LIANG, Ran BI, and Zihan WANG, totaling 10 participants. Over six days of intense single-event competition, the SUSTech athletes faced strong provincial teams such as Guangzhou University, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong University of Technology, South China University of Technology, and Southern Medical University. In this event, Xufei ZHU, a Master’s student from the College of Engineering, teamed up with Weiming CHEN, a doctoral student from the College of Engineering, to advance through multiple rounds and defeat several teams, making it to the Group A Men’s Doubles final and ultimately taking second place, marking the best historical result for the SUSTech badminton team in the Men’s Doubles event at this competition.

Xufei ZHU and Weiming CHEN, Group A Men’s Doubles runner-up, with their coach on the court

To prepare for this competition, the team members trained during their spare time and repeatedly reviewed tactics before the match. During the competition, the players played steadily and gave their all, gaining valuable experience in real competition. The SUSTech Sports Center has long been committed to using high-level competitions to strengthen students’ athletic spirit and provide a platform for inter-school sports exchanges. The results achieved this time not only marked personal breakthroughs for the players but also reflected the phase achievements of SUSTech Badminton Team’s approach of “learning through competition, educating through sports.”