Foreign shuttlers to spice up Kudat badminton tourney

KOTA KINABALU: Foreign flavour is expected to add spice to the Kudat Closed Badminton and Team Invitational Tournament which is happening at the Dewan Tun Mustapha in Kudat tomorrow. The three-day tournament will feature Indonesian players Rifki Ramadhan and Muhammad Rizky Munardi. Rifki and Rizky from Kelab Djarum and Kelab Berundong Tua respectively will join forces to feature in the men’s doubles open.

The men’s doubles open is among six categories being featured in the tournament that is organised by the Kudat and Pitas Badminton Association, with the cooperation of Penyewa MARA Kudat and the Youth and Sports Ministry.

The other categories include the Men’s Singles Open, Men’s and Women’s Doubles Closed, Men’s Veteran Doubles 80 Closed, Mixed Doubles Closed and Inter-Department Team Invitational.

Organisers said the presence of the two Indonesians will give local players a tough challenge and, at the same time, add foreign flavour to the event.

Meanwhile, organisers are happy with the encouraging response, where full entries were received for the interdepartment category. There are 16 in total and they represent all agencies under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry including agencies in Kudat.

The participating teams are DPU MARA, Felcra, PDRM Taman Nelly, MARA, Kemas, KKLW, MARA KPPKS Kudat, PDRM Kudat, Meteorologi Kudat, Lembaga Bandaran Kudat, MARA Sandakan, Pendidikan Kudat, Kesihatan Kudat, JKR Kudat, Peladang Kudat and RELA Pitas.

These teams will compete in various events, including the men’s doubles, women’s doubles and men’s veteran doubles 45 and above. The tournament will have cash prizes up for grabs as well as medals and sports apparel and equipment for the winners in all categories.