CHENNAI: In a move targetted at sustaining performance and unearthing young talent in the country, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided to revamp its domestic meets.
A multi-level tournament structure has been introduced at the senior level with bigger prize kitty, close to Rs 2 crore. The national badminton body arrived at this decision at its Executive Council (EC) meeting in Hyderabad on Sunday. All the EC members are free to offer suggestions and the BAI will take a close look at the finer points before finalising the new structure in about a week.
“The BAI’s goal is not only to unearth the best talents who can sustain a high level of play at international tournaments, but also to create a sustainable domestic structure backed up with sizeable prize money to benefit players,” said Himanta Biswa Sarma, BAI president.
The revamped structure will have three levels of tournament. Level 3 is the lowest and will feature six BAI Series tournaments a year. Each tournament will carry a prize purse of Rs 10 lakh. The top 30 singles players and 15 doubles pairs as per BAI rankings will get direct entries. There will be no restriction on entry in qualifying. The first three meets are expected from May to June. The remaining three could be held in November onwards.
Level 2 will include four BAI Super Series tournaments and each one will offer a prize purse of Rs 15 lakh. The top 48 singles players and 24 doubles pairs will get main draw entry. Players with points from Level 3 tournaments will also be eligible for the qualifying draw. The first two events are expected in July and the last two in December.
“This rejig of the entire structure will test the very best and help us to get the cream of players who can be groomed for international tournaments,” said Ajay Singhania, BAI general secretary. And lastly, there’s Level 1 called the BAI Premier Super Series. It’s the big one as the name suggests. It will have a prize purse of Rs 25 lakh and will only feature the cream.
According to a BAI release, the tournament will have a league-cum-knockout format. The top eight singles players in BWF rankings and the top four doubles pairs will get direct entry. The top 24 singles players and 12 pairs as per BAI rankings will also get direct entry.
The senior national championship will be a Level 1 event with a prize pool of Rs 50 lakh.