Staging BWF World Championship Great Achievement For Badminton Association Of India: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Badminton Association of India president Himanta Biswa Sarma said staging the BWF World Championship in India will be a great achievement for BAI.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday allotted the prestigious BWF World Championship to India for 2026. This will be the second time that India would host the premium tournament, which is held every year except for the Olympic year. India had hosted the BWF World Championships in Hyderabad in 2009. Since then, India has played hosts to various major badminton tournaments including the 2014 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, the Asian Championships apart from the annual BWF Super 500 event, the Yonex-Sunrise India Open. Badminton Association of India President Himanta Biswa Sarma was confident that hosting the World Championship in 2026 would only help Indian badminton take bigger steps towards becoming a world powerhouse. "Staging a tournament of the stature will be a great achievement for us at the Badminton Association of India as well as for the country," he said. "We are thankful to BWF for considering India for badminton's most prestigious and premier tournament and I believe with world-class shuttlers coming to participate it will be a great opportunity and motivation for the enthusiasts of the game and for the sport to see a huge growth across the country," added Sarma, who was also recently elected as BWF Council member for the 2021-24 period.