Badminton competition to be held for locals and foreigners in a first

In a first in the Maldives, a badminton competition with participation from both locals and foreigners is scheduled to be held under the name ‘Badminton Challenge 2024’.

The competition is organized by expatriates in the Maldives in association with Badminton Association of the Maldives.

Females and males will compete in two separate categories in the competition. Each team can have up to two players.

Registration for the competition is presently open for a fee of MVR 350.

So far, 20 teams are registered to compete in the female category. One team out of the 20 comprises of foreigners while the remaining 19 teams comprises of Maldivians.

A total of 53 teams are registered to compete in the male category of which 35 teams comprises of Maldivians and the remaining 18 teams comprises of foreigners.

The competition will kick off next Sunday and will continue throughout the week. Matches will be held every day from 4:00pm onwards at Ekuveni Badminton Indoor Stadium in Male’ City.

Speaking with Sun, Thomas Anthony, one of the organizers of the competition, said the competition has received huge support from Maldivians with people from various regions taking part.

“The competition will be monitored by individuals who are experienced on an international level,” he added.

He detailed that all assistance required for the competition had been rendered by the Badminton Association of the Maldives.

As per Thomas, the purpose of the competition is to provide a platform for badminton players who play the support in the non-professional category to compete as such opportunities are rare for them.

Winners of the competition will be rewarded with exciting prizes. In this regard, the champion team in each category will receive MVR 15,000 and two trophies. The runner-up team in each category will receive MVR 8,000 and two trophies.

Semifinalist teams will receive MVR 4,000 and four trophies while quarterfinalist teams will receive MVR 2,000 and eight trophies.

Thomas, underscoring the competition will be held annually, said additional categories will be introduced starting next year.