Dubai: Some of Asia’s and world’s best will be in action as the battle lines are drawn for the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship, to begin at the Expo City-Dubai Exhibition Centre on Tuesday. It’s a historic six days of intense action to be witnessed, which also mark the first time the UAE will be taking part in the continental championship.

Defending champions China and runners-up in 2019 edition Japan have been given the top two seeds while Malaysia and Indonesia have been the other two to get their rightful places in the groupings as total of 17 teams vie for the top honours.

Strong side

Indonesia will start as one of the favourites as one of the top favourites to grab the title as they are led by men’s world No 2 Jonathan Christie and world No 3 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who is not ready to take anything for granted despite having such high-quality in their squad.

“Hoping to do our best as it is a Team championship. Every tournament is important for us and let’s see what we can do for this week,” Ginting told Gulf News in an exclusive interview as he was enjoying the Emirati hospitality at a special event organised by Beyond Boundaries at a desert camp in Dubai on Monday.

China are also keen to make the most of the opportunity and lay a lot of importance to defend their crown.

“It’s a big tournament and we pay a lot of attention and have very high value for this tournament. We have made lot of preparations and aim to defend our title. And added incentive is the qualification for Sudirman Cup, so we go all out to win the title,” China’s top men’s player Zhao Jun Peng told on the eve of the event.

Energetic young team

India, who are eighth in the rankings, will be led by P.V. Sindhu and H.S. Prannoy, will be eager to win the championship and take the rankings higher as they enter the qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Prannoy, ninth-ranked in the world, told Gulf News that he was looking forward to the event and was hoping that the victory in this championship will change India’s methods in the years to come, something similar to what happened before winning the Thomas Cup.

“Excited to play for the first time in Dubai and team events are always exciting. It’s important to play as a team, so the main focus is to get the entire team together and share as much knowledge as possible among us and help each other in playing the tournament. We would definitely are looking to win this championship,” said the 30-year-old veteran. “I am the oldest of the group and very good bunch of youngsters with plenty of energy. I think that’s what you need in a team event.”

Winning returns

Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu is returning after four-month layoff and will be looking to finding her rhythm as she targets world No 1 spot and the Olympic qualification.

“Firstly, I want to play well and win some tournaments. My ultimate aim would be get a medal at Paris 2024, but before that, short-term goals for this year I would say Asian Games and, of course, the World Championships in August. I hope to do well and win a few tournaments,” the 2019 world champion told earlier during her visit to Gulf News headquarters.

“Asia Badminton Mixed Team Championship is extremely important. Team event is something where it’s a different atmosphere altogether and one needs to play and support equally as a team. It’s always nice to have events like these, and there’s also ranking when you get a few points. Each event is very important and it’s going to be a hectic year,” the 27-year-old added.

Regional teams in focus

Some of the regional teams like Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain and UAE will be taking part in this edition as the Asia Badminton is targeting a growth in West Asia.

“Badminton will be capturing this region and the world as well. Asia is the power house of the world and top players will be competing in the tournament. All top Asian countries, India, China, Japan and Korea, will be represented,” said Moosa Nashid Secretary General of Badminton Asia.

For the young UAE team, who have a mixed of Emiratis and expatriates with an average age of 15, it is a dream come true as the 16-member squad will be waiting with bated breath to take to the courts against Malaysia in Group B opener in the second session on Tuesday.

Historic moment

“It will be a good start and a good experience for the UAE players. We have a tough group, but we feel we have a good chance against Kazakhstan. It’s a historic moment to play their first tournament in the UAE as a team,” Jaffer Ebrahim, BWF’s Dubai Badminton Development Manager said. “It’s just the start as we are confident that they would do well with the experience gained from this tournament. It’s a dream come true and it is definitely going to have a big impact on their future, playing such a tournament and carrying the country flag means a lot for the youngsters.”

The UAE team was picked after a selection tournament. Talking about the popularity of the sport and the future growth of badminton in UAE, Ebrahim is confident that the sport will grow from strength to strength as there is a huge number of Emirati participation.

“UAE has a strong school programme with almost 100 schools involved. There is a large Emirati participation in all the emirates with plenty of opportunities to play the sport at the school. Also we have Al Nasr Club, the oldest club in the UAE, Sharjah Ladies Club, where 300 women are playing, Kalba Club, Abu Dhabi Racquets Club. It’s a long journey and takes a lot of planning. Now about 3,000 kids playing in the school and clubs with 12,000 active player participation in 45 academies and 300 certified coaches in UAE,” Ebrahim added.

UAE team:Men: Hamid Al Mazrouei, Nasser Al Sayegh, Dev Ayyappan, Dhiren Ayyappan, Rishabh Kalidasan, Bharath Latheesh, Rivan Malhan, Dev Vishnu.

Women: Maryam Al Blooshi, Ghadeer Ali Al Tahri, Sanika Dhawan Gurav, Taabia Khan, Aleena Qathun, Akansha Raj, Navonika Rajesh, Madhumitha Sundarapandian.

Opening day action

The opening day will witness top teams, including defending champions China, kicking off the action in their respective groups. China will open against Uzbekistan in Group A, while other top seeded teams Japan (Group D) and Indonesia (Group C) take on Pakistan and Syria in their opening ties.

While three of the groups (A, B, D) will witness a team playing three ties each, the Group C will have its teams playing four ties each before two teams advance to the quarter-finals.

Top two teams from each of the four groups will make it to the knockout stage, which begins on Day 4 of the Championship (Feb. 17, 2023) after the draw.

The semi-finals will be played on Saturday while the finals are set to take place on Sunday (Feb. 19, 2023).

The groups:

Group A: China, Korea, Singapore and Uzbekistan.

Group B: Malaysia, India, Kazakhstan and UAE.

Group C: Indonesia, Thailand, Bahrain, Syria and Lebanon.

Group D: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Pakistan.

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