Saina Nehwal has been seeded first in the women’s singles, while Parupalli Kashyap has been seeded first in the men’s singles of the tournament, which will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
Saina Nehwal, the London Olympics bronze medalist, will be the highlight of the Odisha Open Super 100, the state’s first-ever international competition under the Badminton World Federation (BWF), which starts on Tuesday in Cuttack.
Saina Nehwal has been seeded first in the women’s singles, while Parupalli Kashyap has been seeded first in the men’s singles at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium competition.
This competition features almost 300 players from 17 different countries. The competition begins on Tuesday with the qualifying round and will run until the 30th of January.
The competition, which is a BWF event, is organised by the state sports and youth service department, as well as the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and its Odisha chapter.
“It is an honour for our state to host such a prestigious sporting event,” Odisha sports minister TK Behera said.
Because the tournament is being played in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines, no spectators will be permitted to enter the stadium.
Following their arrival, all players, technical officials, and volunteers were subjected to COVID-19 tests. Only those who have tested COVID-19 negative will be permitted to enter the stadium.
Men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles would be the five categories in which the matches would be played.
“Approximately 350 players from as many as 17 countries from around the world will compete in five events in this tournament, with a total prize money of 75,000 US dollars,” said Girish Nattu, the tournament’s deputy chief referee.
“I am pleased that the organisers have made excellent arrangements to ensure that this international badminton tournament is a huge success, and I am confident that many more such tournaments will come to Odisha in the future,” Nattu added.
Prasanta Patnaik