Young athletes compete at the 9th Global Chinese Youth Badminton Championship. [Photo from WeChat account hefeigaoxinfabu]

The 9th Global Chinese Youth Badminton Championship, which gathered young Chinese badminton players from around the world, came to a close on Aug 25 in Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone.

The event attracted 1,200 players from 15 countries and regions including China, Singapore and Malaysia.

After fierce competition, local athletes from within the zone clinched three gold medals, two silver medals and four bronze medals.

Launched in 2001, the championship is the biggest international sports event hosted by the zone and has more ethnic Chinese participants than any other badminton event.

This year, the zone used smart technologies to assist in registration, scheduling and refereeing, and broadcasted the championship live to the world.