Dubai
Organisers Dubai Sports Council (DSC) has been left speechless with the rapid and booming growth of badminton at the grassroots level, much due to the popularity of the season-ending Dubai World Super Series Final starting on Wednesday.
Conceptualised in 2007, and held for the first two years in 2008 and 2009 in Malaysia, the season-ending tournament has been hosted by Dubai since 2014. This edition marks the final year of this tournament here.
“We are pleased to have the world’s best players in Dubai. Some of them are already champions and the others will prove themselves during the course of this tournament that we are hosting for one final year. The last three years have witnessed a huge growth in badminton and much of it is due to this event. The number of players has increased and we now have more than 10,000 kids who have taken to the sport,” Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, DSC said at the draw ceremony on Monday.
“This huge popularity has proven how badminton has spread through society starting with the grassroots. Many of the schools have become serious partners in pushing forward this sport. This huge number of players only means we need to work more and ensure that some of these children are at the Olympic Games competing for medals,” he added.
BWF General Secretary Thomas Lund also appreciated the role played by Dubai in propping the season-finale in the most fitting manner. “This is yet another fantastic season and this event has become a showpiece for us. In the past three years Dubai has become a favourite destination for the players. So far, this is the last edition in Dubai, and that’s why we need to say a special thanks to the Dubai Sports Council and Falcon & Associates. It is thanks to this partnership that this sport has blossomed,” Lund lauded.
“There are bigger things in store for the region in the future, and today we are proud to see that this championship has stood out as one of the major events on the sports calendar,” he added.
