The tournament to be held under the aegis of Nepal Badminton Association from September 7-10 at the covered hall of Dasharath Stadium will feature 20 top ranked players in the men´s section and 10 top ranked players in the women´s section, it was revealed on Thursday amidst a press conference in the capital on Thursday. [break]
According to Laxman Shrestha, the general secretary of confederation the matches will be held on the league cum knockout basis and the winners of each match in group stage both in men´s and women´s section will be awarded with a purse of Rs 1500. Similalry, men´s and women´s singles contender will also be awarded with Rs 1,500 soon after entry into the tournament.
In the men´s section, 20 players are divided into four groups with five players in each group. The winners and the runners up of each group will make it through to the quarterfinal. The four winners of quarterfinal will bag Rs 5,000 each.
In the women´s section, 10 players have been divided into two groups and the top two players of group stage would make it through to the semifinal. The winners in semifinal of both men´s and women´s category will bag a purse of Rs 8,000 each while the winner and runner up will be awarded with Rs 15,000 and Rs 8,000 respectively.
The rankings have been made on the basis of players´ performance in the 34th National Badminton Tournament, Krishna Mohan Memorial Tournament and badminton tournament organized on the occasion of Police Day.
There is no provision of entry fee for the players in all the categories other than Rs 1,000 for the veteran. The tournament will be conducted on the basis of Badminton World Federation rules.
Meanwhile, confederation also signed a five-year sponsorship deal for the tournament with Quest Pharmaceutical Private Limited worth Rs 100,000 annually. Laxman Shrestha of the confederation and Umesh Lal Shrestha, the managing director of Quest Pharmaceutical penned the deal. However, the amount of deal shall be increased on other editions depending upon the nature of the event.
According to NBA General Secretary Ramji Shrestha this is the first badminton tournament of this kind to be held in Nepal. "The tournament will be tough and competitive from the beginning as top ranked players in both the categories will compete in the event," Shrestha said.
Other than men´s and women´s singles the tournament will also feature U-17 boys and girls singles and veteran´s doubles above 45 years and veteran´s doubles above 55. The same player would not be allowed to compete in both the categories of veteran´s event.
The top three players in U-17 boy´s and girl´s category will be awarded with a cash prize of Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. Similarly, top three players in veteran´s category will be awarded with trophies and certificates.
Men´s Rankings
1 Bikash Shrestha
2 Ratnajit Tamang
3 Indra Mahata
4 Sajan Krishna Tamrakar
5 Bivek Shrestha
6 Sahadev Khadka
7 Bishal Pradhan
8 Bishuu Katuwal
9 Pankaj Chand
10 Bilas Warshi
11 Rajan Siwakoti
12 Sanjiv Khadka
13 Deepak Bohara
14 Dipesh Dhami
15 Basanta Bajracharya
16 Prajwal Jung Rana
17 Surya Shrestha
18 Sudip Sedai
19 Ram Singh Chaudhary
20 Surya Thapa
Women´s Rankings
1 Puja Shrestha
2 Nangsala Devi Tamang
3 Samjhana Khaling
4 Mina Shrestha
5 Sabina Panthi
6 Samjhana Sharma
7 Punam Gurung
8 Jalamaya Gurung
9 Anita Ghimire
10 Saradevi Tamang
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