Badminton fans to be treated to three delightful tournaments at one location in Jan
Badminton fans in Thailand and across the world, get your popcorn and fizzy drinks ready: you will have an opportunity to witness a selection of the world’s pre-eminent purveyors of the game in three successive major BWF events due in Nonthaburi in January.
World No 1 Kento Momota from Japan will grace the courts alongside rival and world No 2 Chou Tien Chen from Taiwan in the Asian swing from January 12-31 at Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani.
The badminton fest will hit the courts with the back-to-back World Tour Super 1000 series: the US$1-million Yonex Thailand Open 2020 from January 12-17 and the $1-million Toyota Thailand Open 2020 from January 19-24. The curtain will then fall on the season with the $1.5-million HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2020 from January 27-31.
The Yonex Thailand Open 2020 and the Toyota Thailand Open 2020 will be open to the world’s top 40 players, who will battle for points that will ensure qualification for the season finale. There will be no pre-qualifying. The leading eight players in each category will progress to the HSBC BWF World Tour Final 2020.
Joining the top two players are Danish duo Anders Antonsen and former world No 1 Viktor Axelsen and Olympic gold medalist Chen Long, who will lead the Asian charge alongside Anthony Sinisuka Ginting from Indonesia.
In the women’s draw, Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying, who won gold in the women’s singles at the 2018 Asian Games and holds the record for most weeks ranked number one in the world, will be the woman to beat. World No 2 Chen Yu Fei from China will be joined by Japanese duo Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi. 2016 Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion Carolina Marin from Spain completes the stellar line-up.
The men’s doubles contest will be showcased by current world No 1 pairing Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kelvin Sanjaya Sukamuljo from Indonesia. Fellow countrymen and three-time world champions Mohamed Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan will also be looking to end the season in style. In the women’s draw, two-time world champions Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nakahara from Japan will be joined by Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan, the 2017 Women’s world champions from China. There is also a place for second ranked Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota from Japan. China’s Zhengn Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong, who are ranked No 1 in the world, will be favourites to dominate the mixed doubles competition.
The Thai flag will be proudly held aloft by Ratchanok Intanon, currently ranked No 5 in the women’s singles world rankings. She will be joined by Thailand’s top men’s singles player Kantaphon Wangcharoen. Local mixed doubles hopes Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai and women’s doubles stars Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai will all represent Thailand.
The strong Thai team will get a boost with the inclusion of world No 12 Busanan Ongbamrungphan, No 13 Pornpawee Chochuwong, No 25 Sitthikom Thammasin, and three-time world junior champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Meanwhile, as part of the stringent measures outlined by the Public Health Ministry, all athletes and officials are required to follow these procedures:
Overseas participants must be tested 72 hours prior to departure from their country of origin and provide completed “Fit to Fly” documentation. When they arrive at their hotel and before entering their rooms, they will need to undergo a Covid-19 test, after which they must remain confined to their rooms until the test results are known. Once a negative test has been confirmed, athletes will be permitted to commence training.
Practice facilities will be offered to one country at a time. On completion, staff will proceed to disinfect the location to allow the next country to come in for practice. Only competitors and support staff will be allowed within prohibited areas in the practice zones.
The competition area is divided into zones. Only participants and support staff will be allowed within this “bubble”. Participants’ warm-up locations will also be clearly identified.
The flow of players into and out of the competition area is clearly separated. Players will receive shuttlecocks directly from a machine, the same process followed at the Danish Open in October. Post-match interviews will be conducted online.
In line with the government’s measures to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19, all participants will need to remain in the bio-secure bubble (bubble quarantine) for 14 days from their date of arrival in Thailand. The bubble will enable participants to practice normally while undergoing quarantine. No unauthorised persons will be permitted to enter or leave the vicinity of the event hotel throughout the duration of the three competitions, in order to reduce risks of exposure to the virus.
Khunying Pattama Leesawattrakul
“This marks the first time in 110 years of badminton history that three events of such magnitude have been staged in the same location and in such a short period of time,” BAT president and vice president of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Khunying Pattama Leesawattrakul said. “This promises to focus the eyes of the badminton and wider sporting world onto Bangkok via a global TV broadcast,” she said.
“In moving forward with the staging of this series of tournaments, Thailand has once again shown its readiness, ability and confidence to host global sporting events,” she added.
