PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will replace China as hosts of the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC), the last tournament to offer Olympic Games qualifying points. Yesterday, the Asian Badminton Confederation (ABC) secretary general Datuk Punch Gunalan confirmed that the venue for the ABC had been changed, although the dates remain unchanged at April 20-24. “China had agreed to host the meet in the first place and they wanted to stage it at Chu Xiong. But in order to reach this place, we have to go to Kunming Province and take an hour flight to Dali. From there, the players and officials must take a two-hour bus ride to the venue,” said Gunalan. “The ABC is the last tournament to offers ranking points for the Olympics. It is an important event and me must take care of the players' interests. “Prior to the ABC meet, the players are already bogged down with a hectic schedule,” he said. The chase for qualifying points will intensify this year with the Swiss Open (March 2-7), All-England (March 9-14), French Open (March 17-21), Polish Open (March 25-28), Korean Open (March 30-April 4), Japan Open (April 6-11). A total of 172 players - for all five events - based on the April 30 world ranking will be selected for the Olympics.
Malaysia to host ABC tournament KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will host the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) from April 20-24 at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton (KLBA) Stadium in Cheras. Yesterday, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary P. Ganga Rao said Malaysia had no problems hosting the ABC, the last tournament offering ranking points towards the Athens Olympic Games. “We will host it at the KLBA Stadium. We do not want to tax the players by having it somewhere far,” said Ganga. Malaysia were offered the job to host the four-star tournament after several Asian Badminton Confederation members objected to the meet being held in remote Chuziong in China.
I'm very sorry to hear that. I just hope china will won all titles in abc and olympic games. But i must say kunming isn't a province.kunming is yunnan province 's capital.
I think China Badminton association make a mistake!They choose ChuXiong as the venue is a foolish action.
i tend to agree with the ABC secretary general. that's a lot of traveling. why not choose a more accessible city for the championship?
