KUCHING: Kuching will host the 26th World Badminton Championships from Oct 31 to Nov 3 at the newly built RM3 million Multi-Purpose Arena and Indoor Stadium in Petra Jaya here.
A total of 1,866 players aged 30 to 85 from 19 countries will take part in the competition which will be the first time to be held outside China.
The annual tournament has been held for 25 times in China.
The participating countries are Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Brunei, Japan, South Korea, United State, Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Macau, Germany and South Africa.
Malaysia is sending the most number of players totalling 780, followed by China (645), (135), Indonesia (85), Hong Kong (50), Singapore (45) Australia (32), Thailand (26), Brunei (23). The rest of the countries are sending fewer than 10 players each.
State Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Hamzah Abdul Rahman said there will be several legendary players (former world’s class players) including those from Indonesia, China and Malaysia participating in the tournament. Among them are Taufik Hidayat, Lim Swee King and Icuk Sugianto of Indonesia, Tan Boon Yong and James Chua of Malaysia from Sarawak.
“Seven players who are 85 years old are going to participate in this tournament and I myself will be playing against Taufik Hidayat at the closing of the tournament,” said Karim at a press conference here yesterday.
Meanwhile, the tournament’s organising chairman Ting Wei Ping said the competition will be played in various categories and age groups.
He said there is no age limit but for the men’s and women’s singles and doubles open the players must be 34-years old and below and their world’s ranking must be below five.
Meanwhile, for the open doubles categories for both men and women, Ting said the age group is 35 and above.
“The tournament offers a total of RM60,000 only for winners of the open categories while the winners of other categories will only receive medals,” he said, adding that all the seven players who are 85 years old will be awarded medals.
For the first time, he said, there will also be a category where six players will play in one game, with each team having three players — two males and one female.
“It’s going to be very interesting,” he added. Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg is expected to grace the welcoming dinner on Nov 1 at Imperial Hotel here.
