DUBAI // In their bid to allow local talent to shine, the organisers of the India Club UAE Open Badminton Tournament have decided against inviting ranked players from overseas this year.
Top shuttlers from India and the Far East have been a regular feature at the India Club for this annual tournament, which starts on May 9. But with Dubai hosting the BWF Super Series Masters Finals every year since 2014, a tournament which sees the world’s top eight ranked players and pairs battle it out for the US$1 million (Dh3.67m) prize money, club officials believe there is no need to invite ranked players anymore.
“We are not inviting ranked players this year for the simple reason that we are looking at promoting local talents,” said Bharat Chachara, the general manager of India Club.
“The reason why we used to invite these ranked players was because the fans in this part of the world never really got an opportunity to see ranked players come here and play matches. But Dubai hosts the BWF Super Series Masters Finals and so we have the world’s top stars coming here every year.
“On the other side, what was happening is, they [the invited ranked players] were such strong players that the local players did not stand a chance to win. So the idea is basically to ensure that our local talents get the opportunity to shine and win the tournament.”
Being held for the 39th time, the tournament has attracted 712 entries in 26 categories, with expats from India, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Bahrain, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and United Kingdom taking part.
Organisers have also added two more categories – the boys’ Under 16 doubles and the girls’ U18 doubles.
“We are adding these two new categories for the sake of promoting the young talents here,” said Dinesh Nair, head of the badminton activities at the club. “We have a lot of young talents in the country now. We see school badminton happening every weekend. So we decided to introduce these two categories for these youngsters.”
The club have also invited children with special needs and workers from the labour camps to play exhibition matches and feel part of the event.
The tournament will kick off on May 9, with matches being played from 7pm on week days and 10am on Friday, while the final is scheduled for June 3. The last date for sending entries is May 3. For further information, please contact the India Club on +971 4 3371112 or email them on support@indiaclubdubai.com.
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