i trying to get as much info as i can about this tournament... tasha and vivian hoo is there already...they training together with iran national team... will update any info as soon as i can...
well...no much info i can get...i asked player for the draw...unfortunately,the draw is not with her tat time...sigh...
U.S.' Women's team to compete... ..as reported here: http://www.usabadminton.org/news/article/9420 Good luck, guys! ======================================================== USA Women's Badminton Team to Compete in the 2009 Fajr International Badminton Tournament, Feb. 5-8 in Tehran, Iran USA Badminton February 02, 2009 Photo: U.S. Department of State USA Women's Badminton Team in Washington D.C. USA Women's Badminton Team to Compete in the 2009 Fajr International Badminton Tournament, Feb. 5-8 in Tehran, Iran COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Eight female athletes representing USA Badminton (USAB), including 2008 U.S. Olympians Eva Lee (Orange, Calif.) and Mesinee "May" Mangkalakiri (Garden Grove, Calif.) will travel to Tehran, Iran to compete in the Fajr International Badminton Tournament, February 5-8, 2009, at the invitation of the Iranian Badminton Federation. In conjunction with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) a delegation of 12 Americans, made up of players, coaches and officials, will travel to Tehran for the tournament from February 3- 9, 2009. The Fajr Tournament is a respected international badminton event and an opportunity to compete against a talented Iranian team and other international talent. Last year teams representing 23 countries competed in the Iranian tournament which celebrated its 19th year. The event is sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and results will count toward each player's international ranking. USA Badminton Athletes competing in the event include: Eva Lee (Orange, Calif.) - 2008 U.S. Olympian Mesinee "May" Mangkalakiri (Garden Grove, Calif.) - 2008 U.S. Olympian Kimberly Kramer (Bethesda, Md.) Tina-Rose Cavazos (San Antonio, Texas) Rachel Liao (Potomac, Md.) Tiffanie Kimura (Glenview, Ill.) Rena Wang (Arcadia, Calif.) Becky Neumann (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) Also in the travelling delegation are: Ms. Wendy Carter (Gig Harbor, Wash.) - Head Coach Ms. Rita Cardenas-Gamez (San Antonio, Texas) - Team Manager Mr. Paisan Rangsikitpho (Long Beach, Calif.) - USAB Official and BWF Council Member Mr. Dan Cloppas, USA Badminton Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General ECA and USA Badminton look forward to hosting the Iranian Badminton Federation later this year when they will come to the USA for the 2009 Yonex/OCBC U.S. Open Grand Prix Championships, July 7-12 in Orange, Calif. In addition to being a tremendous international competitive opportunity for USA Badminton athletes, this Iran exchange is in response to the U.S. government's call for expanded people-to-people exchanges with Iran. The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is including Iranians in a broad range of traditional educational, professional, and cultural exchange programs for the first time since 1979. Over the past two years over 250 Iranians, including artists, athletes, and medical professionals have participated in exchange programs in the United States. Through its Sports United program, ECA has brought the Iranian National Teams for Basketball, Water Polo, Weightlifting and members of the men's and women's National Table Tennis team to the United States. The State Department also sent 20 members of USA Wrestling to Iran to compete in the prestigious Takhti Cup in January 2007.
with no draw in hand...player have agree to update the result for me every one hours...pls stay turned...
I think many countries will think twice about sending their players to Iran... The de-facto practice by the US is to make it very difficult for anyone who have gone to Iran recently to enter US soil...
They could come to Canada, one already did "Thanks Cooler…I was actually reading the same news in a Persian website this morning….I'm so excited for that…I used to be the champion of this international tournament held in Iran for 3 years "
IRAN wont grant Visa to US Badminton team due to late application.....basically US team are on the way to Teheran via Dubai.......
ya...and they will play in four event...ms,md,ws and wd...hope we can have more than 1 title(ms by arif)last year...
Yeah, I read the news through internet (washingtonpost.com)... Iran Denies Visas for U.S. Women's Badminton Team By Thomas Erdbrink Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, February 5, 2009; Page A14 TEHRAN, Feb. 4 -- Iran did not issue visas for a group of U.S. female badminton players it had invited to compete in the country in events starting Friday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, citing the "time-consuming process" of handling such applications. "They will not participate in the competition," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said during his weekly news conference. The Iranian Badminton Federation, a part of Iran's Physical Education Organization, which is headed by Vice President Mohammad Aliabadi, had invited the eight players, along with four coaches and managers, to participate in a tournament during celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. "We are disappointed and hope the Americans will forgive us," said Zahra Tayyebin, head of the Badminton Federation's public relations office. "They should know that the Badminton Federation did all the necessary follow-ups for the visas." Thirteen other foreign teams, including squads from Malaysia, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, will take part in the tournament. The Obama administration said it was mystified by the visa refusal, especially because the president and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have expressed a willingness to engage with Tehran. The badminton team's visit would have been the first cultural exchange under the new administration, but it was arranged as part of a concerted effort by the Bush administration since 2006 to promote cultural, medical and athletic contacts between two countries that have not had diplomatic relations for three decades. The United States cut ties with Tehran during the 1979-1981 hostage crisis, in which a group of radical students held 52 Americans captive for 444 days after storming the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. "This is a very unfortunate situation," State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood said Wednesday. "You know, as the secretary and others have said, when the Iranians unclench that fist, there will be a hand waiting to greet them," Wood added. "We are very interested in trying to improve relations between the American people and the Iranian people, and this is not a good step forward in terms of trying to promote people-to-people exchanges." On Monday, the U.S. State Department had said it hoped to reciprocate the Iranian Badminton Federation's invitation by inviting Iran's national team to the United States in July. Since January 2007, more than 75 Iranian athletes have taken part in wrestling, weightlifting, water polo and table tennis competitions in the United States, while 32 American athletes, including 20 wrestlers, have visited Iran, the Ettemaad newspaper, which is critical of the government, wrote Wednesday. A total of 250 Iranian artists, athletes and doctors have visited the United States since the program started, according to the State Department. Staff writer Glenn Kessler in Washington contributed to this report.
yup, that is very disappointing to hear this news though http://www.badzine.info/index.php?o...ed-visa-for-iran&catid=61:newsflash&Itemid=76