The final of the Sudirman Cup could be played in India this year. This relates to a letter from the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to the World Federation of Sports (BWF). The mixed team championship was scheduled to be held in India in 2023, but the BWF gave the honour of hosting Suzhou in China.
The championships were scheduled to be held in Suzhou in 2021. But due to the COVID-19 problem in China BWF could not hold events there, so the event was moved to Vantaa in Finland. The Sudirman Cup, scheduled to be held in China from May 14th to 21st, is again in doubt due to the current COVID situation there. “India is keen to host the Sudirman Cup this year. We have written to BWF regarding our interest. We expect an affirmative response within two weeks,” BAI Secretary General Sanjay Mishra told PTI.
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Due to the COVID-19 crisis that hit the Chinese city of Guangzhou in December, the final competition of the badminton world tour at the end of the season was moved to Bangkok. The China Masters Super 100, which will be held in Ruichang, China, March 14-19, is currently in the spotlight.
According to Mishra, India also expressed its desire to take on the responsibilities of hosting the World Junior Championships. “We have also expressed an interest in the World Junior Championships, which was allocated to the USA but has now been withdrawn. India has expressed an interest but we have not heard from the BWF.”
“However, if we become a winner of the Sudirman Cup, we must hold for alternative cycle for the World Junior Championships.” In November 2018, Honolulu hosted the World Junior Championships.
In October last year, Indian S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian won silver at the World Junior Championships in Santander, Spain. In 2009 and 2014, India hosted the Thomas and Uber Cups and the Badminton World Championships respectively. There was only one Junior World Championship in 2008. Before hosting the team event in 2016, the nation had played at home in the Asian Badminton Championships. That was in 1965, 1983, 2005, and 2010.
Although Indian Ferries dropped out of the competition, the Open from India rose to a super 750 at a tournament and had a strong crowd at IG Stadium the whole time. Outside the event, Mishra explained that next year the BAI will try to offer paid seating. “The reaction from the crowd was incredible. Seeing the fan interest, we are motivated to go for paid tickets next time.”
Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Akane Yamaguchi won the Indian Open on Sunday. This season, Guwahati will host a BWF Super 100 event in addition to India’s two other international badminton competitions. Kerala will host an international youth competition.
