THE 82ND Senior Nationals Badminton Championship, under the auspices of the Badminton Association of India (BAI), will be hosted by Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) in Nagpur from tomorrow.
The Senior National Championship will be held after 25 years in the Orange City from 2nd November – 8th November, 2017 at the Divisional Sports Complex, Mankapur. The total prize money announced by Badminton Association of India (BAI) for the event is Rs. 60 lakhs – the highest ever in the history of the Senior Nationals. The Championship will be broadcasted live on Doordarshan and All India Radio.
The preparation for the mega event is completed and the city is all geared up to welcome more than 450 players from 29 states and 2 union territories. Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, President – BAI, in his vision and quest to make India a world superpower of badminton by the next Olympic Games, has ensured top player participation in the domestic circuit. The championship will see top Indian shuttlers like P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi, Ashwini Ponnappa, HS Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram battle it out to gain top billing.
Below are the prize money details announced by BAI:
| Mens & Womens Singles | Doubles Pair | Team Events |
| Pre-Quarters- 50,000 | Â | Â |
| Quarter-finalists- 75,000 | 75,000 | Â |
| Semi-finalists- 1,00,000 | 1,00,000 | 1,00,000 |
| Runner-up: 1,50,000 | 1,50,000 | 3,00,000 |
| Winner- 2,00,000 | 2,00,000 | 5,00,000 |
Mr. Arun Lakhani, President, Maharashtra Badminton Association said, “We are delighted to be hosting the 82nd Senior Nationals Badminton Championship in Nagpur and thank BAI President Dr. Sarma, for bestowing this honor to us. The Orange City is all set for badminton’s biggest annual event and it’s a huge opportunity for fans to watch their favorite players in action. Many Indian players in top 50 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings will be participating. The Mankapur Sports Complex is ready for this mega event as we want the fans and the players to have a first-of-its-kind world class experience. With 5 events (Men’s & Women’s Singles, Men’s & Women’s Doubles and Mix Doubles) and team championship, I am sure this will be a treat to watchâ€, he added.
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The Maharashtra Badminton Association will also felicitate two veterans Mr. Pradeep Gandhe and Mr. C D. Deoras for their immense contribution in the field of badminton in the state of Maharashtra.Â
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The players who have got direct entry into the pre quarter finals and quarter finals are:
Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Sai Praneeth, Ajay Jayaram, Sourabh Verma, Parupalli Kashyap, Danial Farid, Sameer Verma, PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Rituparna Das, Anura Prabhudesai.
Direct entry into quarter-finals:
Men's doubles: Satwiksai/Chirag, Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy, Arjun MR/Shlok Ramchandran, Top Pair from latest BAI ranking
Women's doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa/Sikki Reddy, Sanajana Santosh/Aarthi Sara Sunil, Jakkampudi Meghana/Poorvisha Ram, Top Pair from latest BAI ranking
Mixed doubles: Pranaav Jerry Chopra/Sikki, Ashwini/Sumeeth, top pair from latest BAI ranking, second top pair from BAI ranking.
The rousing action will kick-start on 2nd November, 2017 with an extravagant Opening Ceremony and the Grand Finale will take place on 8th November, 2017. From 2nd of November till the finals 22,000 school kids from Nagpur will also witness the actions live in the Divisional sports complex. While Indian badminton players are engraving their names across the world, the Senior National Championship will bring together India’s top badminton players wherein they will showcase high-class action in front of sports lovers.