For the first time in India, BWF World Senior Badminton Championship kicks off in Kochi
Kochi, September 11: For the first time in India, BWF World Senior Badminton Championship kicked off today in Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium of Kochi which will continue till 17th September. 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.
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 medallist Partho Ganguly and 1982 Asian Games bronze medallist Leroy D’sa.
The Indian contingent will also have Arjuna awardee and Kerala player George Thomas and Commonwealth Medallist and Former India doubles players Sanave Thomas and Roopesh Kumar. The championship will be held in India for the first time.
The President of Badminton Association of India (BAI) Himanta Biswa Sarma will be hosting BWF tournament. “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.
“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.