BWF Senior World Championships to get underway in Kochi from September 11

After the scintillating performance of the Indian shuttlers in Glasgow, Indian badminton fans are in for more treat, as the coastal city of Kochi is all set to host the Manorama BWF World Senior Badminton Championships next week.

The week long tournament will see a total of 665 players from 40 countries battle it out in eight different age groups - plus-35, plus- 40, plus-45, plus-50, plus-55, plus-60, plus-65 and plus-70 and will be played in all the five categories.

The tournament is expected to be a cracker of an event with the shuttlers after proving their might on the court during their active playing days will yield their racquets in the senior circuit and aim for top honours. A total of 175 players will represent India including Olympians Abhinn Shyam Gupta, Nikhil Kanetkar and V Diju along with three times Asian Games Team Bronze Medalist, Partho Ganguly and 1982 Asian Games Bronze Medalists, Leroy D’sa.

The Indian contingent will also see representation of Arjuna Awardee and Kerala Player, George Thomas and Commonwealth Medalist and former India doubles player Sanave Thomas and Roopesh Kumar.

The prestigious championship is being held in India for the first time and will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium from September 11-17. India in the past have hosted major BWF tournaments like Junior World Championships (2008), World Championships (2009) Thomas and Uber Cup(2014) and the Indian Open Superseries, being hosted since 2011.

BWF’s awarding the rights to host the Senior World Championships also ensured that India became the only country to host all individual BWF events in the world and it also shows Badminton Association of India’s and ever-rising prominence in the global circuit.

The tournament will not only give a chance to the home fans to witness the best of yesteryear Master players in action but will also offer all the visiting fans a chance to enjoy the hospitality of Kochi and backwaters of Kerala which is a must see during the Incredible India tourism destination visit to India.

“India has always been one of the key members of BWF and has been constantly working towards the growth of the sport. They have a huge fan base and we believe this will help us to take the popularity of the tournament to a whole new level,” BWFMajor Events Manager, Venu Mahalingam said.

Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, President of BAI is also thrilled to host yet another BWF tournament and feels that augurs well for the Indian badminton and it will definitely help in enlarging the badminton fan base in the country.

“First of all I would like to extend my gratitude to BWF for awarding us the rights for Senior World Championships and instilling their faith in us and am quite sure that we will deliver on the expected lines. We have in the past hosted many big tournaments and hosting this tournament is yet again a prime example of how Indian badminton is growing in stature globally,” Dr. Sarma said.

“Our players have done exceptionally well in the recently concluded world championships and we hope to see our veteran players carry that forward and end with top medals tally in this tournament as well,” he added.

India has bagged several medals including Gold at this prestigious Senior World Championships in the past; it will be a huge opportunity once again for the former Indian greats to make a podium finishes in front of the home fans.