NEW DELHI: More immigration counters, sufficient number of practice courts, smoother traffic, blocking hotel rooms, setting up the competition venue, implementing a new scoring system — these are some of the pointers that will keep the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Badminton World Federation (BWF) occupied as Guwahati gets ready to host the World Junior Championships from October 13-19.
This will be the second time India will host the event after the 2008 edition in Pune where Saina Nehwal was crowned the girls’ singles champion — the only Indian to achieve the feat.
“We are fulfilling all the requirements of BWF. Roughly 600-700 players and officials will come to Guwahati. 39 teams (federations) have already confirmed for the team event. For the individual competition, shuttlers from 10-12 more countries will add up to make it a total participation of shuttlers from 50-55 countries,” BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra told HT.
“We have blocked hotel rooms. BAI president (and Assam chief minister) Himanta Biswa Sarma had a meeting with state officials regarding making traffic smooth for players as some hotels are a little away from the venue. He has already given orders to the state departments concerned.”
A BWF team was recently in Assam’s main city for a recce of the venue, BAI’s National Centre of Excellence which was inaugurated in 2023. The NCoE will host the team event from October 6-11 followed by the individual competition from October 13-19.
“The NCoE is a readymade badminton facility that is well equipped to welcome the best emerging badminton talent from around the world. This includes the practice facilities. We will work closely with BAI and the local organising committee to ensure player and entourage arrivals, accommodation, and transport run smoothly,” BWF secretary general Thomas Lund told HT.
“There are several exciting innovations that will be implemented in Guwahati as part of our long-term considerations for innovation in events and event delivery. An updated relay system will be introduced in the mixed team tournament while the individual championships will trial the 3×15 scoring system as part of BWF’s wider testing and analysis programme.”
For the team event, each tie will be decided over best-of-three games with each game played to a total of 45 points and comprising five matches (men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles).
It is important for India to put up a good show as it is due to host the senior World Championships next year, the venue for which is to be decided.
The India Open — the biggest annual event India hosts — was criticised in January by Danish shuttler Mia Blichfeldt, who slammed the “unhealthy and unacceptable” playing conditions, complaining about air pollution and dirt after falling ill regularly during her India visits. France’s Thom Gicquel had complained about the playing conditions and pollution levels in the national capital. There have been a few instances of food poisoning too over the years.
“The BWF team was 100% satisfied with the hotels, the 3,500-seater venue and sufficient practice courts (12). We have also requested for increasing the number of immigration counters because many players will come from Malaysia or Singapore, which have direct flights to Guwahati. For those coming via New Delhi, we have put together a meet-and-greet team. There should not be a problem of any kind,” said Mishra, the former junior national coach.
The 2009 BWF World Championships in Hyderabad — the only time India hosted the event — wasn’t without problems after the England squad withdrew citing security concerns. They were joined by two Austrian shuttlers later.
Lund said: “To achieve such lofty ambitions for the tournament, a lot of planning and collaboration between BWF, BAI and the Guwahati LOC has taken place. Last year (in Nanchang), we had 457 competitors from 39 teams. This year too, we’ll roughly have the same numbers.
“The team relay format posed some technical and logistical complications last year and we have taken onboard those learnings to ensure all facets are running smoothly, particularly for players and technical officials. We will run 3-4 sessions a day to get through the matches, which means a lot of staff, officials and volunteers on hand.”
Asked about the challenges, Mishra said they are usually venue related, like washrooms, playing halls, lighting, etc. “The venue is our biggest plus point. At NCoE, everything is perfect. BWF has already approved it.”
Apart from the India Open, a Super 750 event, India also hosts a few Super 300 and Super 100 tournaments. In 2014, they hosted the Thomas and Uber Cups.
“We feel BAI are well placed to meet the current technical requirements to host a championships of this level. Of course, together we are entering slightly unknown territory with the scoring system innovations. All parties will be focused on this during the first week of the event,” said Lund.
