THE 2023 Al Sharif Group Bahrain International Challenge badminton tournament will be organised by the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS) under the patronage of the Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation (BBSF) at the BKS from November 21-26, the organising committee announced at a Press conference yesterday.
The International Challenge is a Level 3 sanctioned tournament by Badminton Asia, the sport’s governing body in the continent, and attracts players from the top 50 world rankings regularly.
Nearly 250 players from 32 countries, ranging from Canada to Algeria, have registered for the competition. Europe, Africa, North America and Asia are all represented. This year’s edition also has, for the first time, players from China and Japan, two of the heavyweights of international badminton.
Senior Badminton World Federation (BWF – the sport’s global governing body) referee Gaurav Khanna will officiate as the tournament referee. Presently the coach of the Indian para badminton team, Khanna has received the prestigious Dhronacharya Award – the highest national honour for coaches in India.
After the success of the live stream on YouTube for the entire duration of last year’s tournament with nearly 300,000 people from around the world tuning in, this year’s competition will also be live-streamed on the same website. And more than 5,000 spectators will be present in the stands, just like last year, to watch all the action unfold live.
This year’s tournament sees some exciting talent from around the world. The men’s singles top seeds are both from Spain, Pablo Abian and Luis Enrique, ranked 65th and 66th, respectively. Indian Sankar Subramanian, the third seed, will be the crowd favourite. Adnan Ebrahim, the Bahraini number one, also finds a spot in the qualifying rounds
The women’s singles top seed is the returning champion, Malavika Bansod. Jenira Stadelmann, from Switzerland, will also be sure to be a crowd-puller.
The men’s doubles will see, for the first time, Irish top seeds in Paul Reynolds and Joshua Magee as well as entries from China, Algeria, Japan, Sri Lanka among others.
The women’s doubles top seeds are Bulgarian Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva with the Chinese pair of Zi Meng Wang and Key Un Ding also sure to feature prominently.
The mixed doubles will see a strong Indian presence with the renowned Sikki Reddy teaming up with Sumeeth Reddy as well as Aadya Variyath alongside Satish Karunakaran. The top seeds are the English pair of Jenny and Gregory Mairs.
The tournament will be held at the BKS Diamond Jubilee Hall. Apart from title sponsors Al Sharif Group, other major sponsors include JTJ and TEFCO.
Entry is free.
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