Since the last few years, badminton has been taking big strides in India, emerging as a popular sport. At the same time, the country has produced some of the best shuttlers, who have been the driving force behind the sport’s popularity.
But the reason behind their greatness is the tournaments they have been participating in in India, be it international or domestic. These tournaments have been playing a crucial role in developing the upcoming shuttlers from the country.
On that note, let’s look at the major badminton tournaments held in India.
Let’s start with the international tournaments first, shall we?
India Open
This is the highest level of badminton tournament that takes place in India every year. The India Open is part of the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) World Tour series.
It is one of the six Super 750 tournaments that take place in different countries. The competition carries a prize money of US$850,000 along with World Ranking points.
The India Open is an annual event taking place since 2008 in New Delhi. Over the years, the tournament has seen its elevation from Grand Prix Gold to BWF Superseries to Super 500 to Super 750 levels.
Prakash Padukone, Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi, PV Sindhu, and Lakshya Sen have won the India Open in the singles category. Jwala Gutta-Valiyaveetil Diju (mixed) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (men’s) have won in the doubles category.
Syed Modi International Badminton Championship
A year after the India Open’s inception, the country got another international tournament in the Syed Modi International Badminton Championship. The competition started in 2009 as a BWF Grand Prix event in Lucknow.
Two years later, the Syed Modi International Championship saw its elevation to Grand Prix Gold level. Since the BWF restructured its events in 2018, the tournament is part of the World Tour Super 300 level, with a prize money of US$210,000.
The likes of Nehwal, Sindhu, Sen, Kidambi, and Parupalli Kashyap have clinched the championship.
Guwahati Masters
This is another tournament that is part of the BWF World Tour. But this is a relatively newer tournament, having started in 2023.
The Guwahati Masters is a Super 100 event played in Assam’s capital city. It offers prize money of US$100,000 as many lower-ranked Indian and international shuttlers compete against each other.
The Indian women’s pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto were the inaugural winners in the doubles category.
Those are the three major international badminton tournaments that take place in India. Now, let’s shift our focus to the domestic competitions.
Premier Badminton League
Many sports played in India have a professional league in place. And badminton is no exception.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI), the country’s governing body, organises the Premier Badminton League (PBL). Many renowned Indian and international shuttlers participate in this franchise league.
The inaugural edition of the PBL took place in 2016, with six participating teams. Bengaluru Raptors are the most successful franchise in the league.
All Indian National Badminton Championships
This is the oldest national championship, which has been taking place since pre-independence days. The first-ever Indian National Badminton Championship happened in 1934, and since then it has been an annual event.
From its inception to the 1960s, foreign shuttlers also competed along with the top Indian badminton players. But after that, only Indian players have been playing in the championships.
The All Indian National Badminton Championships holds tournaments across all disciplines with their own titles. The men’s and women’s singles tournaments are known as Vikas Topiwala Challenge Cup and Olympian Badminton Challenge Cup, respectively.
The men’s and women’s doubles players compete in the Calcutta Badminton Cup and All India Badminton Association Cup, respectively. There is the Burdwan Challenge Cup contested by mixed doubles pairs.
The Championships also host team events, with the men competing in the Ibrahim Rahimtoola Cup and the women playing in the Gulab Rai Chadha Cup.
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