The Badminton Asia Championships, the showpiece continental event for the sport, will take place in UAE for the next five years after Dubai-based sports management and consultant company 'Beyond Boundaries' signed a deal with the Badminton Asia (BA), a report in insidethegames.biz said.
The two organisations inked the deal last month in Singapore for the hosting of the event in the UAE from 2023 until 2027, according to the report. Manila held the most recent Championships in April 2022.
This will be the first time the Championships will be held in the UAE. The tournament has been held annually since 1991, with the only break coming in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19.The report added that Badminton Asia chief, Anton Subowo, its secretary-general Moosa Nashid and Beyond Boundaries chief executive Sathya Menon were present at the signing ceremony.
"Badminton is one of the most popular sports with an all-time high participation and fan base," said Subowo. "It will be exciting to host the Badminton Asia Championships in a new arena."Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia and Wang Zhiyi of China clinched the men's and women's singles titles at the 2022 event, while Indonesia's Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Rambitan bagged the men's doubles gold.
Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China bagged the women's doubles title, while the Chinese pair of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong won the mixed doubles gold.