Commencing from April 26 at India Club, Dubai, a total of 28 categories [singles and doubles] for adults and juniors are on the schedule with attractive prizes of up to Dh60,000 to be won in the competition, which is presented by Henna Speedy.
As one of the oldest competitions in the UAE, the event has gone from strength to strength. In 2016, it was given a four-star rating in the Sports Events Ranking System by Dubai Sports Council.
That saw more than 600 contestants took to the courts last year and organisers are predicting an even bigger turn-out with registration closing on Saturday.
“We had a record number of entries last year with 603 and I’m confident we’ll beat that this year,” said Sunil Singh, tournament organiser.
“The India Club UAE Open Badminton tournament has come a long way since it first began. It started as the UAE Open as the sport wasn’t that big at the time. In 2001, we realised there were a lot of people playing badminton and slowly it started growing.
“In the past, we have had players from Iran, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia and India as well as other countries and now it’s a case we don’t have to invite players because the sport is now quite established here in the UAE.”
Matches will be played at 19:00 on weekdays and from 10:00 on Fridays. Entries to categories are restricted to three per person in order to allow more people to compete.
“Our focus is on the youths in order for them to play competitive badminton,” said Singh.
“Each player is only allowed to enter in three categories as we want more people to be part of our annual event.
“We want people to have a passion for the game and a lot of them have that. This is a place where you can showcase your talent. A lot will have given up the sport at one stage but this tournament gives you the platform to play and enjoy it again.”
