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The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday confirmed that India will host the World Championships in 2026. Meanwhile, Suzhou, China will stage the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals in 2023.
2026 would be the second instance of India hosting the World Championships, which is held every year except for the Olympic year. India hosted the BWF World Championships in Hyderabad in 2009.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) also received confirmation about the hosting rights from the world’s governing body of the sport on Tuesday. BAI general secretary Ajay Kumar Singhania said:
“Yes, we have received communication from the BWF regarding hosting the World Badminton Championships. We made a bid long ago for the World Championship and we are happy that we got it. It will be an honor to host such a prestigious tournament in India. It will be a remarkable achievement for India to host the event. It will certainly promote badminton in a big way in the country.”
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BWF World Championships venue will be decided later, says BAI general secretary Singhania
The venue for the World Championships will be decided later. Ajay Kumar Singhania called the opportunity a historic feat for BAI that would establish India as one of the leading badminton nations in the world.
“I will term it as a phenomenal success for Indian badminton. We have got the rights to hold the World Championships. We have not finalized the venue for it yet. We have ample time to decide which city will host it. We are just happy that we got the rights to hold such a major tournament in our country,” said Singhania.
India has hosted several major badminton tournaments, including the 2014 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, the Asian Championships, the annual BWF Super 500 event and the Yonex-Sunrise India Open in New Delhi.
BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma was confident the opportunity would take India closer to becoming a world powerhouse in badminton.
“Staging a tournament of this stature will be a great achievement for us at the Badminton Association of India as well as for the country. We are thankful to the BWF for considering India for badminton’s most prestigious and premier tournament. I believe, with world-class shuttlers coming to participate, it will not only be a great opportunity and motivation for the enthusiasts of the game but also for the sport to see a huge growth across the country,” added Sarma.
Sarma, the current Assam chief minister, was also recently elected as a BWF Council member for the period 2021-24.
Suzhou was due to host the championships in 2021, but with the BWF unable to stage any tournaments in China this year, the event was switched to Vantaa in Finland. Suzhou will now stage the 2023 edition of the BWF World Mixed Team Championships, with the original 2023 hosts India having accepted the opportunity to host the World Championships in 2026.
In a press release, the BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said:
“Suzhou has demonstrated great capabilities in planning for the 2021 edition and we look forward to bringing the Total Energies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals back to China in 2023. We thank host organizers Suzhou, the Chinese Badminton Association, as well as the Badminton Association of India for their cooperation during this process.”
The BWF World Championship is the most prestigious tournament in badminton. This is an individual championship where players compete for the title of World Champion. There are five events offered — men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. First held in 1977 and originally hosted every two years, the BWF World Championships has, since 2003, been held every year except Olympic years.
Meanwhile, the Sudirman Cup is the World Team Championships, held every two years. The cup is named after Dick Sudirman, a former Indonesian badminton player and founder of the Badminton Association of Indonesia.
