Sports
The Badminton World Federation Sudirman Cup will be held on Queensland’s Gold Coast from 21 to 28 May 2017. Will holding the tournament for the first time in Australia broaden the sport’s international appeal?
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) Sudirman Cup will serve as a prelude to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
More than 1,500 competitors from 45 countries will travel to Queensland to contest the BWF title.
“The Gold Coast is one of Australia’s premier holiday destinations – famous for its beaches, surf, theme parks, shopping, nightlife and sub-tropical rainforest,” says Leanne Coddington, CEO of Tourism and Events Queensland.
“Players and spectators will be greeted with a warm Queensland welcome from a passionate sporting nation eager to see who will take out the Sudirman Cup for the first time on Australian soil.”
Global Audience
The cup will be televised to a global audience of more than half a billion people.
The Sudirman Cup was held last year in Dongguan, China, where Australia’s number one doubles team Matthew Chau and Sawan Serasinghe were stand-out competitors.
The twosome also performed well at the 2016 Oceania Championships.
Gold Coast local and 2016 Olympic hopeful Wendy Chen, who is ranked Australia’s number one women’s singles player, also displayed considerable promise on the court.
The tournament will be held at the brand new state-of-the-art Gold Coast Carrara Sport and Leisure Centre.
Badminton Backgrounder
Badminton’s roots are in India, where the game developed during the British colonial era.
While badminton also gained popularity in Europe and other parts of the world, the sport is particularly popular in Asia.
China has dominated international badminton competitions in recent years.
Badminton is growing in popularity in Australia, and a number of Australian players are ranked in the world’s top 40.
Hosting the Sudirman Cup is expected to significantly boost the profile of badminton in Australia.