City gears up to host national badminton championship

Vijayawada: With Vijayawada set to host the 87th Senior National Badminton Championship from December 22 to 28, preparations have gathered momentum at the Chennupati Ramakotaiah Municipal Corporation (CHRMC) Indoor Stadium in Patamata.

In this connection, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) Chairman Animini Ravi Naidu, Vice Chairman and Managing Director S Bharani, and Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association (APBA) Secretary Dr P Ankamma Chowdary, along with Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) engineering officials, inspected the stadium on Tuesday.

The seven-day championship has been allotted by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to the AP Badminton Association after a gap of a decade. The tournament will be conducted at the CHRMC Indoor Stadium, which is being renovated by the VMC at a cost exceeding Rs 1 crore to meet national-level standards.

Several top shuttlers, including Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, international stars Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen, along with other prominent players, are expected to participate, adding further prestige to the event. As Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan are likely to attend the championship, officials were instructed to ensure flawless arrangements. Speaking on the occasion, Ravi Naidu highlighted the efforts of Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath alias Chinni and Vijayawada East MLA Gadde Rammohana Rao in strengthening sports infrastructure. SAAP Director Santosh, Krishna District Badminton Association Secretary MSN Prasad, VMC engineering officials, and others were present.