By Nishman Ranasinghe
February 01, Colombo (LNW): The participation of 559 foreign athletes has been confirmed for the 100 INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP BADMINTON TOURNAMENTS TO BE HELD IN SRI LANKA FROM FEBRUARY 25 TO MARCH 2. The tournament, which will be held at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo, will be FOLLOWED BY THE 100 INTERNATIONAL BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIP FROM THE DAY AFTER (MARCH 3) TO MARCH 8, centered around the same venue. Representing a number of large countries such as America, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. 559 athletes are participating in the first tournament and there is still time left for the second tournament to register.
The Sports Ministry also has an opportunity to get involved as a government, in this tournament to be held at the Sugathadasa Stadium. By focusing on the energy that will be added to the country’s economy through this tournament, if not free, then by allocating the land for the tournament at a minimum price. However, the officials working in these sports administrative units are currently busier with getting the Sports Minister to implement the agendas of their friends, so it does not seem that the Minister has paid attention to the badminton tournament yet.
108 local athletes are also scheduled to participate in this tournament, and accordingly, the total participation in the tournament will be 667.
399 Male and 268 Female players are competing in the tournament. Since a large number of applications have been received for each competition category – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles – it is likely that a large number of players will have to compete in the qualification rounds, depending on the rankings, in order to be included in the main draw.
Two star hotels are already available near Colombo to provide accommodation for the tournament, and it is possible that cheaper hotels or more luxurious hotels will be reserved for the athletes and their friends and staff. It will be a special occasion that will bring dollars into the country. If the government has some policy agreement on this matter and reaches a common understanding on the concessions that can be provided in the use of resources that mainly belong to the Ministry of Sports in organizing such international competitions, it may be tempting not only for badminton but also for other sports to organize international competitions.
