New Delhi, Jan 31: The much-awaited domestic badminton circuit is set to begin from April as Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided to resume the senior ranking tournaments with the revamped structure. The decision was taken during BAI’s Executive Committee meeting today. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state unit members were connected virtually from all parts of India.
Having lost almost a year due to the pandemic, BAI, after discussing with the state units, have decided to initiate the domestic circuit with two senior ranking tournaments starting in April to announce the resumption of the sport in the country.
“It’s has been a tough time for our players as well as all the stakeholders associated with the game who had to sit out for such a long time. However, the arrival of the vaccine has brought new hope and confidence, and after deliberating and evaluating the tournament execution plans and the safety protocols, I can say, we are confident of the resumption,” BAI President Himanta Biswa Sarma was quoted as saying in a press statement.
The revamped domestic structure promises to provide opportunities to budding shuttlers to showcase their talents. The senior ranking tournament will now be classified into three levels wherein Level 3 will have six series tournaments in the year while Level 2 will have four Super Series tournaments. The Premier Super Series Tournament is bracketed as the Level 1 tournament which will have two tournaments per year. The tournaments will also see a lucrative prize money with Level 1 being valued at Rs 25 lakhs. Level 2 and Level 3 will have Rs 15 lakhs and 10 lakhs prize money for the respective tier tournaments while Rs 50 lakhs for the Senior Nationals Championships.
