New Delhi, March 27: Badminton Association of India is all set to host yet another blockbuster edition of the BWF Metlife Yonex Sunrise India Open World Superseries at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in the capital from March 28. The $325,000 tournament which is in its historic seventh year of existence will see the cream of world badminton vying for the prestigious crown over the next five days.
“Badminton as a sport has grown in stature in India. There are so many players coming up through the ranks and that is testimony to the initiative taken by the BAI to nurture players at the grass root level. And as always the tournament promises to enthrall the Indian fans with some high-octane badminton action as every year,” said Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta, president of BAI said during the launch press conference of the tournament today.
“Just like every edition, the tournament this year will see the best of the players in action and I am looking forward to a great competitive tournament. I hope may the best player wins, even though deep down inside I would want the Indians in the fray go the distance,” Dr. Das Gupta added.
The tournament which has over the years gained great prominence on the international calendar promises to be a grander affair with the prize money hiked by $25,000 from last year.
With plethora of foreign and national stars already confirming their presence for India’s only super series tournament, the cynosure of all Indian fans will be on the women’s section that will be headlined by the star Indian duo of 2012 London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal and 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist PV Sindhu.
While World No. 9 Saina is a past winner here in 2015, World No.5 PV Sindhu will be aiming for her maiden India Open Superseries title. Challenging them for the crown will be World No.4 women’s player Carolina Marin of Spain and defending champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.
“It is a pleasure to be back in India after my wonderful stint in the Premier Badminton League Season 2,” said Carolina Marin. “I had no idea that I had so many fans in India before the PBL and I will look forward to give a good performance and play in front of my Indian fans again,” added the lass from Madrid.
Saina Nehwal who is the only Indian woman to win the Yonex-Sunrise India Open will be raring to go in this edition of the tournament. “The Yonex-Sunrise India Open is very close to my heart, as I became World No. 1 right after winning it in 2015,” said the current World No. 9 and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, Saina Nehwal.
In the men’s section, the action will be spearheaded by World No.4 Viktor Axelsen and World No. 5 and 2012 winner, Son Wan Ho of Korea. The Indian challenge will be spearheaded by the trio of Ajay Jayaram, H.S Prannoy and 2015 champion Kidambi Srikanth.
With the qualifying round start tomorrow, all Indian hopes will be rested on Sourabh Verma, Siril Verma and former Junior World No.1 Aditya Joshi in the men’s section. In the women’s section, Arundhati Panthawane and P.C Thulasi who will be spearheading Indian challenge.
Badminton Association of India just like every year has made it free entry for the spectators so that the fans could watch their favourite stars plying their trade in the tournament.
“We are excited to partner once again with BWF as the title sponsor of the MetLife BWF World Superseries. We look forward to this year’s Yonex-Sunrise India Open, featuring world’s leading badminton players including some of India’s best to battle for top honours. We continue to promote the sport of badminton at a grassroot level through our annual property ‘PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship (JBC)’. JBC is the single largest open-platform in India which can boast of hosting over 8,000 talented children across different strata to chase their dreams of being a badminton star. As part of our CSR initiative, we have been organizing badminton camps across the country to train talented underprivileged children. We have also awarded 32 national scholarships in the last two years to talented children from economically weak background as a part of this championship to help them realize their potential and grow under the guidance of professional coaches. The third season of JBC is scheduled to launch on April, 3, 2017 in Delhi,” Sameer Bansal, Director Bancassurance, PNB MetLife on the eve of India’s prodigious tournament said.
“We are sure the tournament will live up to the great reputation that it has built over the years. The players that have confirmed their presence for the tournament will make the tournament a highly competitive one, we at Yonex-Sunrise are quite optimistic of yet another great edition of the Yonex Sunrise India Open World Superseries tournament,” Vikram Dhar, Country head of Yonex India said.
