The Badminton Association of India will renew the structure and hold national tournaments in April

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced on Saturday that the long-awaited national badminton action is scheduled to start from April this year. BAI has decided to resume senior qualification tournaments with the renewed structure. The decision was made during the BAI Executive Committee meeting on Saturday.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the state unit were connected from virtually all parts of India. Having lost almost a year due to the pandemic, BAI, after discussing with the state units, has decided to start the domestic circuit with two senior ranking tournaments starting in April to announce the resumption of the sport in the country.

“It has been a difficult time for our players, as well as for all the stakeholders associated with the game who had to be left out for so long. However, the arrival of the vaccine has brought new hope and confidence, and after deliberating and evaluating the tournament execution plans and safety protocols, I can say that we are confident of the resumption, ”said BAI President Himanta Biswa Sarma, in an official statement. .

The renovated domestic structure promises to provide opportunities for budding ferries to showcase their talents. The senior qualifying tournament will now be ranked in three tiers whereby tier 3 will have 6 series tournaments in the year, while tier 2 will have 4 Super Series tournaments.

The Premier Super Series Tournament is bracketed as the level 1 tournament that will have two tournaments per year. Tournaments will also see lucrative cash prizes with Tier 1 valued at 25 lakhs. Levels 2 and 3 will have 15 lakhs and 10 lakhs in prizes for the respective level tournaments, while 50 Lakhs for the senior national championships.

“While our focus was on resuming the sport, we ensured that player safety remained our top priority. Although the situation is gradually improving in the country, we will not compromise the health of the players while conducting these tournaments. The new tournament structure and revised prize money will not only encourage and bring positivity to the ecosystem, but we also hope that this structure will ensure greater exposure to potential and new talents in the country, ”said BAI Secretary General Ajay Singhania.

Both tournaments, which will start the restart of badminton in the country, will be part of the level 3 tournaments and will be played with a tie of 64 in singles and 32 in doubles with the hosts receiving 2 odds in singles and 1 in doubles. There will be no restrictions on the number of qualifying entries, although 32 singles and 16 doubles entries will advance through the qualifiers.
The meeting also saw discussions about the upcoming India Open, scheduled for May, which is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the badminton calendar and will also be the final qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics. To make the event memorable for both players and spectators, BAI has created a dazzling atmosphere at the renovated Indira Gandhi Stadium.

Along with the resumption of tournaments, BAI has also decided to restart all national camps for senior and junior shuttles starting in April. Junior shuttles, which are potential prospects for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics and are part of the Junior Tops Program, will be included as part of this camp. These junior shuttles will train at the five BAI-SAI youth academies in Guwahati, Panchkula, Gopichand-SAI badminton Academy, PPBA-Bangalore and Babu Banarsi Das Badminton Academy in Lucknow. The training of young people will begin in a phased manner.