India Open Super Series expected to draw bigger crowd this time – Badminton news
In the second edition of its origin, the India Open Super Series is expected to draw a bigger crowd as the organisers have announced a free entry for everyone to watch the best athletes competing for glory in this important event, which will take place in New Delhi, India, from April 24-29.
In the first edition of India Open last year, the organisers could not grab the attention of a huge crowd and many seats remained empty despite the participation of many top shuttlers from all over the world including World Number One Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.
However, this time the organisers decided to bring more crowd by making the live action free of cost for them as everyone is allowed to watch this Super Series tournament without spending a single penny for tickets.
While talking about the opening edition of India Open Super Series, the marketing manager Selvamresh Supramaniam said that it was disappointing that they failed to bring huge crowd.
He also pointed out a major factor in this regard by saying that India’s top shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out in the opening round of the tournament which also caused a lesser crowd to watch the later fights.
He said, “Last year there were a lot of empty seats at the venue. While part of the reason would be the fact that Saina lost in the first round itself, it was still very disappointing because it was the first time a Super Series event was being played in India.”
Nevertheless, Selvamresh is optimistic that this time huge crowd will watch this event as it is free to watch.
He also said that it will be the last tournament of the season and all top players will participate to earn precious ranking points which will help them to find a favourable draw in Olympic Games.
He added, “Because the India Open is the last tournament of the season and comes just before the Olympics, we can expect almost all the main players to take part. Everyone will be looking to gain crucial ranking points to get the most favourable draw for the Olympics,”
Chong Wei won the Men’s Singles title in the opening edition of India Open last year.
This time China’s top players will also be in action as it will be the last Super Series event of Olympic qualifying round and it will earn them a good place in the draw of Olympic Games.
Tags: