BAI to hold selection trials for Thomas & Uber Cup, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games in Delhi from April 15

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) will be conducting selection trials for the upcoming Thomas and Uber Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in New Delhi. The BAI on Saturday announced that the selection trials will be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from April 15 to 20.

Apart from the major tournaments that are to be held this year, the BAI will also be finalising probables for the senior core group for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The 32nd Thomas Cup and 29th Uber Cup are scheduled to be held in Bangkok from May 8 to 15. The 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Asian Games will kickstart in Birmingham and Hangzhou, respectively, from July 28 and September 10.

Players ranked in top 50 of BWF world rankings to be eligible for selection trials: BAI

The selection trials will see the participation of players ranked between 16 and 50 in the BWF world rankings as the BAI looks to pick the best players for the major events. The BWF rankings, released on March 29, will be taken into consideration.

Players who are ranked in the top 16 in singles and top 8 in doubles in the national rankings, based on their domestic performances, can also take part in the trials. The BAI conducted two senior ranking tournaments in Chennai and Hyderabad in December 2021.

A core group of players selected by the BAI selection committee and SAI in 2019 will also be included inthe selection trials.

Players who have had notable performances in the international circuit in the last three months will be selected directly alongside those ranked in the top 15 in the world. The vacant spots will be filled based on the performances in the selection trials. Those players will be eligible for BAI/SAI assistance for training and competition.

The Commonwealth Games squad will consist of ten members with an equal number of men and women. The Asian Games and Thomas & Uber Cup contingents will have 20 members each, including ten men and ten women.

Apart from thesenior selection trials, the BAI will also conduct trials for junior players. These players will be chosen for the selection trials based on their performances in the upcoming U-19 ranking tournament to be held in Bengaluru from April 9.

With the dates of the Korean Masters clashing with the selection trials, the BAI will withdraw the entries of its players from the Super 300 tournament. The governing body of sports in the country will settle the withdrawal fine so that shuttlers can participate in the trials. The Korean Masters is scheduled from April 12 to 17.