Kochi: The 2017 edition of the World Senior Badminton Championship will be held at the Rajeev Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra, in Kochi from September 11 to 17.
Malayala Manorama is the main sponsor of the event which will attract over 1,400 veteran shuttlers, including Olympics medal winners, from more than 100 countries.
This is the first time that the championship is being hosted by India. The Indian team will consist of 160 players including many yesteryear stars.
Competitions will be held in five categories - men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles. Players in the age category of +35, +40, +45, +50, +55, +60 +65 and +70 will be seen in action at the seven-day event.
As many as twenty courts, including eight practice courts, have been made ready for the championship. Competitions will be held simultaneously at 12 courts, the organizers said.
The World Senior Badminton Championships are held every two years. Sweden hosted the previous edition in 2015.
The winners of each category will be awarded medals by the sport’s governing body Badminton World Federation (BWF). The event, organized in association with the Badminton Association of India, will be officiated by referees, umpires and line judges from different countries.
It is arguably the world’s largest badminton tournament at the international level, in terms of participation, said S. Muralidharan, secretary, Kerala Badminton Association.
Ernakulam district collector Mohammed Y. Safirulla inaugurated the championship’s reception committee office at a function held at the Rajeev Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Saturday. Kochi Regional Sports Center secretary S. A. S. Navaz and Malayala Manorama Marketing Services and Solutions vice-president Joy Mathew were present.