MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines is set to host the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February in Manila.
Rizal Memorial Coliseum will serve as the backdrop to the regional tournament that will be played from Feb. 11 to 16.
Badminton Asia Chief Operating Officer Chit Boon Saw said badminton is experiencing another resurgence and that the Philippines fully deserves to host the tournament.
“I think the Philippines is one of the fastest developing nations in badminton. And it is good to bring an event like this in a developing badminton country,” said Saw as the last time the country hosted the Asian Championships (individual) back in 2001.
“The game can be promoted to the masses better with an event like this.”
The tournament will also be a venue for Filipino shuttlers to accumulate points to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and for the Thomas (Men’s) and Uber (Women’s) Cups set in Denmark this May.
Men’s champion Indonesia and women’s titleholder Japan will headline the 290 shuttlers that will compete in the Philippines.
There will be 15 men and 14 women’s teams in the biennial meet with each division divided into groups of four. The top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout stage.
The team format is a best-of-five encounter with three singles matches and two doubles matches.
“I hope the Philippine team takes this as an opportunity to learn and grow in the team event. As you know, there are not a lot of team tournaments in the world so this will be a good opportunity to learn on your home court,” also said Saw.
The Philippines went 1-2 in the men’s side and 0-3 in the women’s division during the 2018 edition of the meet.
“I think it will be a successful event because of the venue and the people working in the event. The venue is really suitable. I believe that it will be a good hosting.”