Fri,Sep 6,2013
Olympic champion Li Xuerui led the People Liberation Army (PLA) team to claim their first-ever badminton women's team title at the 12th Chinese National Games here on Friday.
The PLA beat defending champions Jiangsu Province spearheaded by Asian Games women's singles winner Wang Shixian 3-1 in the final which lasted 221 minutes.
The 22-year-old Li met little resistance from her national teammate Wang in the third match, putting the PLA 2-1 ahead with an easy victory of 21-14, 21-9.
"As the major player in the PLA, I'm responsible for taking my point for the team and I hope I can bring my sound form into the singles event," said Li, who will later compete in the women's singles at the Games.
In the fourth match, Xiong Rui/Xiao Jia came from behind to defeat Jiangsu's Sun Xiaoli/Xiong Mengjing 11-21, 22-20 and 22-20, sealing the victory for the PLA.
The National Games, billed as China's mini-Olympics, has long been a fierce battlefield for the participants. Good results at the Games are regarded as achievements of provincial sport bureaus and medal winners usually reap greater rewards than the international competitions.
Besides Li Xuerui and Wang Shixian, world top-ranked players like Lin Dan, Chen Long also attended the country's premier sporting event.
Mountain of garbage in Nairobi
Highlights of MAKS 2013 Int'l Aviation and Space Show 
10th China-ASEAN Expo opens in Nanning
Eagle Boy takes to sky to break another record
12-year-old boy becomes pillar of the family
Eye-gouged boy receives blind rehabilitation in Shanxi
Top 10 naked hotels in the world
The most gorgeous Chinese women in the eyes of foreigners
A collection of bizarre rooftop buildings around China
Putin intimate contacts with marine animals
China's frigate 'Bengbu'in fire training
Fresh students 'forced' to register in university independently
2013 Taiwan Int'l Tourism Expo kicks off in Taipei
Photo story: Take a gap year
Nokia's Global Headquarters: visiting a declining empireDay|Week|Month
