SHANGHAI, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- USI is pleased to announce the signing ceremony today for the sponsorship of the Chinese B-league Team from the Chinese Pair Go Association (CPGA). Led by coach and champion player Junxun Zhou, the team consisting of Junyen Lin (8 dan, 21), Houhong Hsu (6 dan, 18), Jingting Chien (4 dan, 18) and Junfu Lai (4 dan, 17) were formally introduced to the public in their brand new team uniform.
Chinese Weiqi League (likened to the NBA of go competitions) comes in three levels: Chinese A-League, Chinese B-League and Chinese C-League. Chinese A-League is the highest level where professional go players aspire to compete in. This year, the 12-day tournament of the Chinese B-League starts on June 13th in Zhangzhou, Zhejiang. The young go players (average age of 18.5 years old) Junyen Lin, Houhong Hsu, Jingting Chien, and Junfu Lai were ranked the top four players in the 10th Haifong Cup in 2018. Last June, they teamed up as Team Haifong and scored well in the Chinese C-League which assured them a place in the Chinese B-League. This was exciting news as it was the first time that Team Haifong progressed to the Chinese B-League. The excellent performance of the four players impressed USI and the company extended full sponsorship for the team's trainings going forward. USI hopes that the newly named "Team USI" will achieve even better results, while at the same time encourage cross-straits youth interaction through the tournament. Xinren Ho, Chief Director, CPGA addressed the event by saying, "One must be persistent and have faith in oneself and one's hard work will be recognized."
"We are deeply touched by the generosity and support from Taiwan's business community that resulted in many Taiwan go players' qualifying to play in the professional leagues," says Jeffery Chen, Chairman, USI at the press conference. "USI is doing our part to promote youth participation in Chinese Weiqi. We hope the youths from both sides of the straits will come together through the tournaments and more enterprises will be motivated to sponsor youth development in our society through various activities that encourage them to interact, broaden their perspectives and enhance their overall global competitiveness," he continued.
The signing of the sponsorship agreement was witnessed by Bough Lin, Chairman, Haifong Go. Jeffery Chen, Chairman, USI presented each of the four go players a USI cap to welcome them to the USI family. The cap with USI logo also represents the many blessings and support for the players. The ceremony proceeded with the flag handover to coach Junxun Zhou. Coach Zhou held the flag with pride and waved it with vigor to signify a victorious win for the team.
