Come September, and Hyderbad will see a clutch of international badminton stars competing at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open — a Badminton World Federation Grand Prix Gold Level 3 tournament — two years before Delhi hosts the 2009 World Championships. Indonesian crowd-puller Taufik Hidayat, Danish great Peter Gade and Malaysia's star ace Lee Chong Wei are some of the top names tipped to make the trip to Hyderabad for the 4-9 September extravaganza.Unveiling the multi-hued mascot — The Rising Tiger — during a media briefing in Mumbai, president of the Badminton Association of India V K Verma said that the US $ 150,000 prize money tournament would see an extension for another two years after this edition, marking India's steady emergence as a hosts nation on the international scene. “It won't be a one-off, and we hope to raise it to the World Series level next year,” he added hoping that the international-level NSCI stadium at Worli, Mumbai, would be ready in time for the event next year.
