The Hindu : Sport / Badminton : Hyderabad to host Sunrise India Open

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Friday, Jul 20, 2007
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Sport - Badminton

Hyderabad to host Sunrise India Open

HYDERABAD: The biggest ever prize money badminton tournament in India, the Yonex Sunrise India Open badminton championship will be held at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium here from September 4 to 9.

Briefing the media here on Thursday, former All England champion and current national coach P. Gopichand said that the $1,50,000 event, a World Grand Prix , would also be the qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics.

“We believe that playing in front of home crowds should inspire some of the best players from India like Chetan Anand, Anup Sridhar and Saina Nehwal and provide them with a perfect platform to make it big,” he said.

The event, which is expected to attract 300 players from 48 countries including world and Olympic champions, is being hosted by NEB Sports in association with Badminton Association of India and the AP Badminton Association.

Gala ceremonies

S. Nagaraj, CMD of NEB Sports, said that the opening and closing ceremonies would be gala affairs involving not just sporting celebrities but also stars from the tinsel world and school children.

He also said that an official website would be launched during the main event for easy accessibility of relevant information.

He said that the event is being backed by another former All England champion Prakash Padukone, who was also present at the briefing. Others supporting from behind the scenes are former internationals Nandu Natekar and Ami Ghia.

“We sincerely believe that the event would be a big success and provide a big boost to the sport in the country. It should also showcase our organisational capability,” said Gopichand who would be doubling up both as a coach and also as one of those involved in the organisation. “As a run-up to the event, many promotional programmes will also be launched to popularise it,” he added.

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