Indian Open Grand Prix to be held in Hyderabad from Sept 4-9

Mumbai, June 8 (UNI) Indian badminton got a major fillip with the announcement of the Badminton World Federation Grand Prix Gold India Open Level III tourney, to be held in Hyderabad from September 4 to 9.

The announcement of the tournament was made by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) chief V K Verma here at a press conference last night.

Mr Verma further said that ''for the BAI this is not just a one-off tournament and we would make all efforts to make this an annual event. In fact we are aiming to raise this tournament to the World Series level by next year''. He also said a world class badminton complex is in the process of being constructed at Worli here and we would definitely try and bring this tournament to this city next year if the complex is ready by then.'' With a prize money of 1,50,000 dollars the tournament is being sponsored by Yonex-Sunrise and will see the top international badminton stars in action.

Prakash Padukone, the first Indian to win the All England Open, who was present on the occasion, said it will make a big difference to the sport in India. I hope the BAI makes this tournament an annual feature.

P Gopichand, who followed in the footsetps of Padukone to win the All England Open, and is now the Indian coach, said on the occasion, ''This tournament will be a good exposure for our players. They can exploit the home advantage,'' he added.

The mascot of the tournament the 'Rising Tiger' and the logo were also unveiled.

UNI