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More than 100 players from 17 countries will make an appearance on the island for the Bahrain International Series Badminton Tournament which carries world ranking points and a prize fund of $5,000, writes Gopal Nambiar.
The Indian Club will be conducting this competition on its newly-laid wooden courts from October 30 to November 3 under the auspices of the Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation (BBSF).
Tournament director Madhu Menon said: “This Level 4 event is sanctioned by BAC (Badminton Asia Confederation) and BWF (Badminton World Federation), and will comprise of five categories – men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
“Following the deadline for entries, 47 players have registered for the men’s singles with 31 in women’s singles, 21 in men’s doubles, 12 in women’s doubles and 24 in mixed doubles.
“The last date for withdrawal of entries without penalty is Sunday and the draw will be made on Tuesday.”
The Indian Club has been in the forefront for promoting badminton on the island and has conducted the GCC Badminton Tournament, The Bahrain Satellite Tournaments in 2007 & 2008, The Bahrain International Challenge in 2008, The Bahrain International Series in 2009 and The West Asia International Team Championship in 2010 among others.
Menon added: “BAC has appointed Liu Qian from China as the match referee and Anil Singh from India as the deputy referee for this tournament.
“The major attraction of this year’s tournament is the appearance of India’s ace shuttler Jwala Gutta as the celebrity guest for the tournament finale on November 3.”
The largest contingent of players is from India – represented by 33 shuttlers – followed by Bahrain with 14 players and Indonesia with 11.
Other participating countries are Australia, Denmark, Greece, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Wales, Uganda and Ukraine.
For further information, call Madhu Menon on 39867002.
