World champions Lin Dan and Lu Lan, Malaysian star Taufiq Hidayat and Saina Nehwal will feature in Badminton Asia Championships.

By Garima Verma

After witnessing a thrilling Commonwealth Boxing Championship, Delhi's sports lovers are now set to enjoy some top-class badminton action.

Top stars like world champion Lin Dan, Olympic champion Taufiq Hidayat and India's own Saina Nehwal will showcase their mettle at the USD 1,50,000 Badminton Asia Championships, to be held in the Capital from April 12 to 18 at newly-built Siri Fort stadium.

"As many as 334 players from 21 nations will compete in the championships that will be held in India for the fourth time and in Delhi for the first time after being held in Hyderabad (1976 and 2000) and Kolkata (1983)," Badminton Association of India (BAI) president V K Verma said.

The array of stars will make the event the biggest in badminton to be held in Delhi since the 1982 Asian Games. Besides, Taufik and Dan, the men's singles draw will also feature Ponsana Boonsak of Thailand and 2007 Asian Junior Champion Chen Long, while Chetan Anand will lead the Indian campaign. After India qualified for the Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Malaysia for the first time, the hosts are now ranked seventh in the world.

While world number five Saina Nehwal will spearhead the Indian challenge in the prestigious tournament in the women's draw, the reigning world champion Lu Lan of China, Hong Kong's Zhou Mi, China's Wang Shixian and Indonesian Maria Kristin Yulianti will also be vying for top honours. Also, India's Jwala Gutta and V Diju are expected to stake claims for the mixed doubles title.

And, Verma hoped that the spectators will be treated to the best of the action if Saina locked horns with Lu Lan in the final and arch-rivals Lin and Taufik fight it out in the men's title round.

"By organising a number of high profile events in the country like the World Championship in Hyderabad and the World Junior Championships in Pune as well as the India Open every year, BAI has ensured that the fans at home get to see world class competition frequently," Verma added.

"We are determined to make India the first choice for hosting international tournaments and help Delhi to emerge as the new hub of badminton."

The qualifying rounds of the tournament will be held on April 12 and 13. The main draw of the competition will begin from April 14. The semifinals will be played on April 17 and the final on the following day. Tickets will be on sale from March 29.

The tournament will also serve as a test event for the Commonwealth Games that will be held in October this year.

"Saina can become number one"

Meanwhile, former Asian badminton champion Dinesh Khanna said that Indian star Saina can aim for the top spot in the rankings. "Saina is a hard working and committed player and she has done extremely well for India. She has age on her side and is very much capable of being the number one in the world," Khanna said.

"But the road to the top will be difficult because there is not much difference among the top 10 players and there are many players who are as talented as she is," he added.