KATHMANDU, March 6: Gangata Youth Club is organizing the Fourth National Level Badminton Championship from March 22 to 25 in Beni, the headquarters of Myagdi district. The event carrying highest cash prize in domestic volleyball will be played at the indoor facility in Kalipur, Beni having two courts.
According to the organizers, the main aim of the tournament is to promote Myagdi district as one of the main tourist destinations of the country. Organizing a press conference in the capital on Tuesday, Gangata's President Resham Pun informed that the tournament will feature five different events including men's and women's singles, men's and veterans' doubles above 45 years age and boys' U-17 singles.
The organizes have named the events as Rupse men's singles, Ahdha Galchhi men's doubles, Singa Hot women's singles, Galeshwar veterans' doubles and Poon Hill U-17 boys' singles. Disclosing the reason for adding titles ahead of each category, President Pun said, “All five are the most popular tourist destinations of the district and most visited sites. Thus we want to publicize them at the national and international level.”
It will be the first time the event will be hosted in Beni since the first three editions of the tournament were held in the capital. Myagdi Sports Development Committee will look after the management of the tournament and Myagdi District Badminton Association is the co-organizer.
The tournament will feature top male and female players in the singles event. “We have already discussed with Nepal Badminton Association (NBA) regarding the participation of top-ranked players. It has assured to send them on condition that we provide accommodation,” Pun said. He also added that the club was interested to hold the tournament in Beni because the majority of the club members were from Myagdi district.
“If the tournament earns profit, it will be used for charity,” Pun added.
The tournament will carry a total cash prize of Rs 390,000. Bir Bahadur Thapa, the coordinator of the tournament and entrepreneur based in Hong Kong will sponsor the cash prizes.
The winner and runner-up in men's singles will walk home with Rs 60,000 and Rs 30,000 while the two semifinalists will be given Rs 10,000 each. Similarly, the gold medalist pair of men's doubles will be awarded Rs 100,000 and the silver medalist duo will get Rs 50,000. The pair that finishes third will get Rs 10,000 each. However, players below top-16 ranking will only be eligible to compete in the event.
Similarly, the winner and runner-up of women's singles event will get Rs 30,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively while the third place finisher will get Rs 5,000 each. The top two finishers of veterans' doubles will receive Rs 30,000 and Rs 15,000 while third position holder will get Rs 5000 each.
The top three finishers in the U-17 category will be given gold, silver and bronze medal respectively which is sponsored by Kathmandu District Badminton Association.
The expected cost of the tournament is Rs 2.07 million. The organizers have planned to collect the required budget from donations at local level and also from abroad.
National-level badminton tournament kicks off in Banke
