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A rare treat
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The Yonex Sunrise India open championship will be one of the qualifying tournaments for the Beijing Olympics
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Big draw Great chance for Saina and others
Big time badminton will return to Hyderabad when one of the biggest prize money badminton tournaments in India, the Yonex Sunrise India Open badminton championship, gets underway at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium in September. Going b
y the recently announced plans for conducting the tournament, badminton lovers are in for a rare treat.
Needless to say, the organisers are going all out to make it a major success and expect that it will give a big boost to the sport in Hyderabad and also throughout the State. Andhra Pradesh has long been considered as the nursery of Indian badminton and the State has consistently produced the some of the best players in the country.
According to the former All England champion and current national coach Pullela Gopi Chand, the $1,50,000 event will also be one of the qualifying tournaments for the Beijing Olympics of 2008.
Gopi feels that the event will be a big draw with the fans and also motivate the home country’s players to give of their best for such opportunities do not come everyday. “I believe that playing in front of home crowds should inspire the top players from India like Chetan Anand, Anup Sridhar and Saina Nehawal to give good performances and provide them with a perfect platform to make it big.”
It is expected that the tournament may see approximately three hundred players from more than 40 countries taking part in it. The list may include several of the world’s best players including world and Olympic champions. The grand event will be hosted by NEB Sports in association with the Badminton Association of India and the AP Badminton Association.
The organisers and sponsors are planning to make the opening and closing ceremonies a grand affair. Their aim is to attract the attention of not only badminton lovers but also the general public by involving the services of sporting celebrities, film stars, and school children in the programmes. It is planned to have an official website which will be launched during the main event to provide everyone convenient accessibility of information pertaining to the timing of matches, the background of the players and other related aspects.
Gopi Chand feels that the tournament will also showcase the organisational capability of the hosts. He himself will be seen in a dual role – that of a coach and also as one of the people involved in the organisation. Before the tournament, as a run-up to the event, some innovative promotional programmes will also be launched to popularise it.
ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA
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