5 things to expect when BAI begins their domestic tournaments in Bengaluru on August 27

PV Sindhu's second successive Olympic medal won at the Tokyo Olympics has certainly created a positive atmosphere in the badminton fraternity in India, including in the BAI.

A day after Sindhu bagged her second Olympic medal, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has announced the dates of the much-awaited domestic season.

The country's governing body of sport, BAI, has declared that they will launch their home season with back-to-back tournaments in Bengaluru.

The first BAI Series Senior badminton tournament will be held in Bengaluru from August 27 to September 3, 2021 at the KBA Stadium, Jasma Bhavan Road, Vasanth Nagar. The qualifiers will be held from August 27 to 30, while the main draw will be played out from August 31 to September 3, the BAI has stated.

Immediately after the conclusion of the first tourney, the second BAI Series Senior tournament will be played from September 4 to September 11. The qualifiers will start on September 4, while the main draw will commence on September 8.

Both tournaments will be organized by the Karnataka State Badminton Association (KBA) under the auspices of BAI. BAI secretary (events) Omar Rashid released the official circular and sent it to all the affiliated state units on Monday.

1. BAI playing safe by starting season with seniors’ category

BAI has adopted a cautious approach and is beginning the season with the senior category. The threat of the pandemic is still there and BAI does not want to take any risk by conducting junior tournaments. They will see how the first two tournaments pan out. If they work out fine they might think of holding tournaments for the juniors in the next few months.

There will be five events – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. The singles draw will be of 64 players, while a maximum of 32 pairs will vie for top honors in the three doubles categories.

HS Prannoy

2. Guidelines of COVID-19 to be followed strictly by BAI

The BAI wants to hold the tournaments without taking any risks. They want everyone associated with the Bengaluru leg of the season to be fully vaccinated. Both the Bengaluru tournaments will be held following strict COVID-19 guidelines. The tournament will be conducted as per government guidelines and SOP will be strictly followed. All players above 18, they should submit their vaccination certificate or negative RT-PCR at the venue.

The BAI has also stated that, for players below 18 years of age, it is compulsory to carry a negative RT-PCR report, obtained not more than 96 hours prior to their departure. The circular also stated that if the pandemic situation is not suitable at that time to host the tournament, then the BAI might cancel or postpone the tourneys.

3. Top Indian players expected to be seen in action

Due to the pandemic, almost none of the players did not play in any competitive tournament in the last one and half years. Every badminton player in the country is raring to go and eager to compete. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has already announced its calendar and the first tournament got underway in Denmark on Thursday.

Barring Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth and ace doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who have participated in the Tokyo Olympics, all the other stars are likely to play in Bengaluru.

4. Good match practice for players before international events

The two tournaments in Bengaluru will serve as ideal match practice for the Indian players. It will prepare them for the tough international circuit. With all the leading players likely to take part, the competition will be quite interesting. There has also been an increase in prize money which will be Rs 10 lakh. There will be 30 direct entries in the singles on the basis of players' BWF and BAI rankings. For the doubles, 15 pairs will get direct entries in the main draw on the basis of their rankings.

5. Plenty of Under-19 players are likely to compete

Since no tournament has been announced for the under-19 category, hundreds of junior shuttlers are likely to participate in the senior tournament. Those who are in their last year of juniors will certainly like to play because they will be graduating to play the seniors next season.

It will be good exposure for the juniors when they compete with the established senior star shuttlers. But all of them need to take extra precautions because of the pandemic situation prevailing in the country.