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Price stings

Badminton is the country's most popular sport, with a staggering 250 million recreational players, according to the 2023 national sports participation survey released by the General Administration of Sport of China.

Zhao Xingluo, who organizes a big group of 2,000 recreational badminton players in Beijing, said they have carried the brunt of each major price jump over the past two years.

He once favored the popular RSL brand, with each tube of shuttlecocks costing 77 or 78 yuan, before they doubled in price to about 150 yuan.

"Prices used to climb slowly, just one yuan or so per year. But two years ago, they jumped more than 20 yuan all at once. That's when we realized something serious was happening," said 30-something Zhao. In response, he and his group of players switched to domestic brands like Li-Ning, hoping they'd be less affected by price volatility.

"We thought the price hikes were just on imported brands," he said. "But not long after, Li-Ning's prices rose too. That's when we realized it wasn't about the brand — it was the whole industry," he said.

Zhao arranges groups of 30 to 60 badminton enthusiasts to have three to four sessions on a regular basis each week in gyms across the city. "We burn through a dozen tubes of shuttles every night," he said. "And now, each tube costs way more than it used to."

With the group using more than 70 tubes a week, the expense quickly adds up.

"That's nearly more than 13,000 yuan per week, just on shuttlecocks," Zhao noted. "We split the cost among members, but it still affects how often some people choose to play, especially beginners."

Today, many of the higher-end shuttlecocks on the market, like the Chao Pai's Deep Pink series that Zhao's players now use, are priced at about 175 yuan a tube. "We choose them because they're more durable and give you a better playing experience, and thus better cost performance. But let's be honest, it still stings," he said.