Dubai: World No 1 female badminton star Saina Nehwal will launch the 2015 Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships here on April 29, it was announced on Wednesday.
Nehwal, 25, made history last month by becoming the first Indian female to take the top spot in the rankings after also becoming the first Indian female to win the Yonex Sunrise India Open.
“I’m really looking forward to visiting Dubai again, I had such a good time last year,” said Nehwal, who made it to the semi-finals of the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals here in December last year.
“My trip to Dubai is for a school programme. If I can share some of my experiences with the kids, I can promote badminton, and that will surely lead to good results, inspiring more kids to take up the sport.”
Nehwal’s victory in the India Open also sees her move to the top of the leader board in the qualification race for the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals which will be held in Dubai again this year, from 9-13 December, and after winning the second of the twelve qualifying events, the Indian champion has another trip to the Dubai Finals clearly in her sights.
“Dubai was one of the best experiences of my career. The tournament turned out extremely well. It’s really a different destination because we’re used to playing in Asian countries, but not in a place like Dubai. It’s a beautiful city, and many of us looked forward to playing there because there are a lot of Indians and people of other nationalities.
“Everything was so well planned. The lighting, the stadium, and of course the support I got. It was almost like a home event. It was so much fun. There was a good crowd during the event last year. I would say it is the perfect venue. It has a great future.
“I’ve begun this season well. Of course the next Dubai event is a long way off, but I hope to be there,” added this year’s All England Open final runner-up.
While in Dubai Nehwal will also tour a number of the world class sporting venues in the city, before meeting fans at an autograph session. Details of her schedule will be released closer to her visit.
Only the eight top-ranked players from the Destination Dubai Rankings in men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles will earn a place in the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals to be held at the Hamdan Sports Complex in December, which sees them compete for a share of a $1 million (Dh3.67 million) prize pool. To qualify for Dubai the players have to amass points from 12 MetLife BWF World Superseries Tournaments held around the world throughout the year.
The next BWF Metlife World Superseries event is the Maybank Malaysia Open which commenced yesterday and concludes on April 5.
