Big bucks for winners of Half-Smash Cup

Bangalore: One lakh rupees for the winners of an amateur doubles badminton tournament. Sounds far-fetched?

Well, that’s what organizers of the Half-Smash Cup in Bangalore are offering, making it the highest prize money tournament in India. The tournament will be held from July 27 to 29 at the courts of the Karnataka Badminton Association.

Doubles badminton often takes a backseat to singles in India, and singles players walk away with a greater percentage of the prize money. The Half-Smash Cup, which is in its third edition, is a doubles-only tournament and offers staggering prize money in its three events: the Open Doubles, Masters, and Mixed Doubles.

While the Open Doubles has a purse of Rs 1 lakh for the winners, the Masters event too has an impressive purse: Rs 50,000 for winners and Rs 30,000 for runners-up. The Mixed Doubles winners will get Rs 30,000.

To keep professional players from competing in the Open and Masters categories, organizers have barred state and national players of the last five years, but the Mixed Doubles is open even to state and national players.

The event is being organized by ACE (Ace Sports Association), a non-profit organization with 50 members, and TimePass Sports Management, the owners of the Aratt Fighters franchise in the Karnataka Badminton League. “We wanted to show that such big prize money is possible in domestic badminton events,” said an organizer. “Even at the national championships, runners-up in the doubles get very little money. We modeled this after the weekend open-air doubles tournaments in Kerala, in which players are given decent sums of prize money and gift items by spectators. We are expecting teams from all over India. Such tournaments will help to encourage second-string players who cannot make it to the national team.”

The first edition of the Half-Smash Cup was in 2010, which attracted 200 teams. The winners walked away with Rs 50,000 out of the total prize money of Rs 1.2 lakh, which was unheard-of for such amateur events.

The second edition saw 300 teams participating. The prize money had shot up to Rs 2.25 lakh, and the Open winners made Rs 50,000. This year, the total prize money is Rs 4 lakh.

Venue: KBA Courts, K Raheja Stadium

Jasma Bhavan Road, Vasanthnagar. Ph: 080-42788888

Entry Fee: Rs 1000 per team

Last Date: July 22

To participate, contact: Nikhil (9886086386) or Thomas (9845027878) or email: [email protected]