Indian Club Bahrain stages kingdom’s largest ever international badminton tournament
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
International badminton is set to take centre stage once again at The Indian Club next week when it hosts “The Bahrain International Series Badminton Tournament 2021.” Organised by the Indian Club, in association with the Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation, the event will run from 17 to 21 November and will play a leading role in Bahrain’s return to international sporting action.
With all-important world ranking points and a $5,000 prize purse on offer, the tournament has attracted a record entry of more than 200 internationally-ranked players from 25 different countries, making it the largest international series badminton tournament ever in Bahrain.
The competition will undoubtedly be fierce, with players flying into the Kingdom from all around the globe. India has the largest contingent with 60 players, in addition to the “home” Bahraini players, other countries represented include Australia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Estonia, Jordan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iraq, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, UAE and the US.
The tournament will feature all major categories, namely men’s and women’s singles and doubles plus mixed doubles, with the leading featured players being top 100 ranked women’s player Ozge Bayrak from Turkey and Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay from Indonesia, who is ranked just outside the top 100.
Play will commence at 9.30 am every day with matches on the Indian Club’s two high-quality courts continuing through to a daily 9 pm finish.
The Grand Finals Day is set for 21 November. “It seems such a long time ago since we were able to enjoy international sports events, so it’s great to see international badminton returning at the Indian Club; we have of course hosted big tournaments before, but this one is special with a record entry of well over 200 players,” said Sany Paul Kolengaden, Acting President of The Indian Club.
“ We are honoured to be organising this highly prestigious event and I would like to thank the Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation and all our sponsors for their gracious and vital support.
We are looking forward to a marvellous week of world-class badminton action.” Score updates, details of upcoming matches and all tournament news will be posted regularly throughout the tournament on The Indian Club’s Facebook page – Indian Club, Bahrain. For further details regarding the tournament, please contact The Indian Club reception on 17253157.
First batch of players arrives
The first players arrived yesterday morning at the Bahrain International Airport for the Kingdom’s largest ever international series badminton tournament.
Forty-two out of the more than 200 expected participants touched down ahead of a week of top-class action. The Bahrain International Series Badminton Tournament 2021, hosted and organised by the Indian Club-Bahrain, in association with The Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation, is now officially up and running.
The early arrivals comprised a 29 strong delegation from Indonesia, including top-ranked Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay and 13 of the best from Hong Kong, all looking forward to getting in some practice before the serious action of chasing all-important world ranking points starts on 17 November.
The record entry from 25 countries will compete in all of the main categories – Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles and Mixed Doubles with the tournament’s first four days seeing action throughout the day and into the late evening, ahead of a later start for the Grand Finals Day on 21 November.
The main sponsors for the event include The Benefit Company, African & Eastern, Aqua Clear, ASPA Management Consultancy, Berger Paints Bahrain, Mark Seven Branding & Advertising, Miller International Loss Adjusters and Surveyors, Spectra Information Technology, Value Line and Kolmaz Perfumes.
“Preparations for the tournament are going well”, said the Indian Club’s General Secretary, Satheesh Gopinathan, “with over a hundred club members working hard to make sure that the Indian Club’s return to badminton’s international stage is a huge success; there is a real buzz about the Club which is great to see and we are looking forward to next week being very special.”
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