China-born, but they don't play for China

Pi Hongyan, Yao Jie and Xu Huaiwen might sound as if they could be playing for China, but they actually represent France, the Netherlands and Germany. The trio are prominent among a number of badminton players born in China who have switched to other countries because they were deemed either not good enough, or not tall enough -- or both -- to play for their homeland. Pi, 32, who was born in the southwestern Chinese megacity of Chongqing, used to represent China but is now the darling of the French national team even after failing to make the top grade at home. "Every time I come back to China I feel very happy because people cheer for me," Pi said after she saw off Larisa Griga of Ukraine 21-11, 21-16 at the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championships in the coastal city of Qingdao. Pi said it felt "normal" now for her to turn out for France instead of the country of her birth. "I never regret the decision that I made because I knew I had no chance in China. "If I had stayed in China I would have just had a baby now and I would be doing some other job. I think I'm lucky to be able to continue to play badminton in France." French fans in turn have quickly taken the slightly built Pi to their hearts. At the world championships in August last year in her adopted home city of Paris, she ensured a partisan sell-out crowd at the quarter-finals, where she bowed out to her former compatriot Wang Xin 21-13, 21-15. With a vast pool of talent in China, ditching their country means players such as Pi can compete in major championships, including the Olympics, that they would not be able to take part in otherwise. They can also play on longer because China places more value on youth than experience. "I was not good enough in China and the national team didn't want me to stay, so that's why I left," said Pi, who speaks Chinese, French and English. Others to have taken the same path include Yao Jie, the women's world number 17 who now plays for the Netherlands, and Xu Huaiwen, who swapped China for Germany in 2000. Xu, who retired in 2009, was rejected by the Chinese national team because they said she was too small. Hong Kong and Singapore are two teams in particular which have benefited from the surplus of badminton talent in China. Yao Lei, who was born in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, now represents Singapore. "There are too many players in China and not so many chances to play," she told AFP at the Sudirman Cup. She said the secret of their success is not that the Chinese have any innate ability to play badminton. "It's all about the training," she said.