The Hindu : Sport / Badminton : Strong field for senior Nationals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 24, 2005

Sport

Sport - Badminton

Strong field for senior Nationals

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, FEB. 23. The Golden Jubilee senior National ball badminton championship which gets underway at the MVIT Grounds in the Yelahanka township near here on Thursday, has a strong field consisting of 24 men's and 18 women's teams.

Defending champion, Railways, which won both the men's and women's titles last year, starts as favourite in the meet. The other major contenders are the host Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Major Ports.

According to B. Mahendra, president of the Karnataka State Ball Badminton Association, which is hosting the senior Nationals after a gap of eight years, the championship would be played on a league-cum-nock basis. After the preliminary league phase, the top two teams in each of four groups, would move into the quarter-final knock out. The finals are scheduled to be held on February 27.

The championship marks a watershed in KSBBA's history. The State Association, which was known for its drive, virtually went into slumber for the past few years, with very little activities to its credit. But the new set of office-bearers under the leadership of B. Mahendra and chief patron, Ronald Colaco, have re-vitalised the association.

"When we took over in January, we had a measly bank balance of Rs. 4,500, but within a span of month we are now in a position to conduct the Nationals", said Mr. Mahendra.

The KSBBA hopes that with the senior Nationals, the sport would once again become popular in the State. Karnataka once had an enviable record of winning the women's title for 33 years in-a-row, before losing out to Railways in the late 1990s.

Though the game `s format has remained the same, the Technical Committee of the Ball Badminton Federation of India, would examine the possibility of making few changes, including restricting the game to best of 15 points and shortening the net height for sub-junior matches.

An all India Referees' Board examination will be held during the course of the championship. Mr. Mahendra said that the Federation is also contemplating to float an Asian body.

C. Mariswamy, IPS, Commissioner of Bangalore City Police, will inaugurate championship on Thursday.

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