Top shuttlers for Bareilly meet

NEW DELHI, November 19: Country's top shuttlers will be vying for honours in the all-India prize money Gold Cup Grand Prix badminton tournam...

NEW DELHI, November 19: Country8217;s top shuttlers will be vying for honours in the all-India prize money Gold Cup Grand Prix badminton tournament, scheduled to begin just after the Asian Games in Bareilly8217;s Sports Stadium. The tentative dates are Deember 22 to 24.

The tournament, which carries a total purse of Rs 4 lakh, is one of the Badminton Association of India BAI approved GPs.

So far, 14 men shuttlers and five women players, including India No. 1 P. Gopi Chand and Aparna Popot, have confirmed entries, according to the organising secretary of the tournament, Anil Mehrotra.

The events in the GP includes men8217;s singles, women8217;s singles, men8217;s doubles, women8217;s doubles and mixed doubles. Prior to the main event, there will be a qualifying round for the state-ranking players and the qualifiers will be held on Decemnber 21.

The tournament, which has been conducted since 1991 in memory of Murari Lal Maheshwari, has grown in stature. The first year, the prize money was Rs 50,000 but subsequently raised to Rs 2.51 lakh by the third edition. However, the tournament was not held for some reasons in between and now with the BAI according a Grand Prix status, the prize money has been raised to Rs 4 lakh. The BAI also rescheduled some of the tourneyes, including the GP because of the oznal meets.

The District Badminton Association, apart from conducting all-India level tournaments, has also been encouraging young trainees in the age group of 12-16 with all facilities.

The likely participants are:
Men: Deepankar Bhattacharya, Sushant Saxena, Gopi Chand, Vinod Kumar, Rajeev Bagga, Sidharth Jain, George Thomas, Jaseel P. Ismail, Nikhil Kanetkar, Ajit Wijetilak, Abhin Shyam Gupta, Srikant Bakshi, Vincent Lobo and Marcose Bristo.
Women: Manjusha Kanwar, Aparna Popat, Archana Deodhar, PVV Lakshmi and Madhumita Bisht.