The first edition of the Dubai International Challenge organized by the UAETTBA in cooperation with Dubai Sports Council and sanctioned by Badminton Asia and BWF witnessed a thrilling end at the NAS Sports Complex on the 18th November. The event attracted 201 Players from 38 countries consisting of some high profile players like former Men's Doubles World Number One Yoo Yeon Seong (Korea), Subhanker Dey (India) who defeated Lin Dan and crowned champion at the recently concluded SaarLorLux Open in Germany and Vladimir Malkov (Russia).
The event set off on the 14th of November with the Qualification round, followed by the Main draw matches across 5 Events viz. Men’s Singles, Women's Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. The competitions were conducted in 4 courts across these five days at the NAS Sports Complex.
The last day, as usual, had 5 Final matches, starting with the Women's Singles where the sixth-seeded Jui Jeon from Korea was up against Ashmita Chaliha from India. The Indian teenager comfortably won the title (21-19, 21-15) in 33 minutes.
The Mixed Doubles event followed suite wherein Denis Grachev & Ekaterina Bolotova from Russia played against the Korean legend, Yoo Yeon Seong & his partner So Young Park. It was a thorough entertainer with the first game taken by the Korean Pair at 21-14 followed by the Russians winning the second game at 17-21. A nail-biting decider game saw the Korean pair walking away with the mixed doubles title with a final score of 21-14, 17-21, 21-14 in an hour and 3-minute encounter.
In Men's Singles, the number one seed Vladimir Malkov from Russia was against the second seed Subhankar Dey from India. Dey who was up on court to repeat his mesmerizing performance beating Lin Dan at the recent Saar Lor Lux Open just ten days before the Dubai International Challenge. However, Malkov appeared to be too strong an opponent for Dey. Malkov comfortably took the match in 42 minutes (21-10, 21-15) with Dey taking a few medical timeouts in between due to a sprain.
The next was Women’s Doubles which was an all Korean affair between Go Ah Ra/ Yoo Chae Ran and Ji Sun Bang/ Jeon Jui. The former took the title (21-14, 21-15) in just 27 minutes.
The most exciting Men’s Doubles was next when the former World Number one Yoo Yeon Seong was back on the court with partner Kim Sang Soo against the Indian senior player Tarun Kona and his Malaysian Partner Khim Wah Lim. Khim and his former partner Goh V Shem won their first Super Series title at the 2014 Malaysia Open. The final game was icing on the cake with some fantastic shots and rallies, some of them even went on to 60-75 shots. The Korean pair won the first game at 21-16 and later went on to finish the second game comfortably at 21-9 ending the last match of the Dubai International Challenge in 28 minutes
The closing ceremony was presided over by Ghazi A Madani, Chairman, UAE Badminton. Mr. S Muraleedharan, Vice President of Badminton Association of India and Dr. Shafi Ul Mulk, UAE Badminton graced the occasion by their presence. Prize winners were awarded trophies and medals along with Cash prizes totaling 25,000 USD.
Mr. Stany D’Souza, Regional Manager of Yonex Al Raeed Pioneers (Equipment Partner), Dr. Shibu, Chief Medical officer of UAE Badminton (Medeor 24x7 Hospital, Medical Partner), Mr. Robert Wadsworth, Sports Complex Director, Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex (Venue Partner), and Kirbie and Cathlyn Naval from MEO Travel and Tourism (Travel and Hospitality Partner) were felicitated during the ceremony.
Tournament Referee was Dr. K T Yoon from Singapore, ably supported by two deputy Referees from UAE, Mathew Varghese and Tino Thomas. Several players from UAE, including few budding Emirati talents, got the opportunity to take part in an international event, competing against world’s best players. The event used Live Score system and web streaming, providing updates via the internet and social media on a real-time basis.
Mr. Ian Wright, Development Director of Badminton World Federation and Mr. Chooi Weng Sheng, Events Manager of Badminton Asia who visited the tournament had all praises and appreciated the quality of organizing the event. Several players, coaches and Badminton Federations from across the world have shared the same feedback, which stands as a real testimony of the quality of the events organized by UAE Badminton.
Mr. Jaffer Ebrahim, BWF Dubai Badminton Development Manager, the key contributor in the development of Badminton in UAE, is hopeful of bringing several high profile events to UAE in the near future.
The success of the Dubai International Challenge would not have been possible without the dedicated team of passionate Technical Officials and Volunteers from UAE, whose efforts and quality were applauded by players and spectators alike. We also thank the Dubai Sports Council and all our partners for helping UAE Badminton deliver an event in exceptional standards.
Winners across the various categories
MS Final
Vladimir Malkov (1), RUSSIA, def. Subhankar Dey (2), INDIA, 21-10 21-15 .
WS Final
Ashmita Chaliha, INDIA, def. Jeon Jui (6), KOREA , 21-19 21-15 .
MD Final
Kim Sang Soo and Yoo Yeon Seong, KOREA, def. Kona Tarun, INDIA, and Khim Wah Lim (6), MALAYSIA, 21-16 21-9 .
WD Final
Go Ah Ra and Yoo Chae Ran, KOREA , def. Ji Sun Bang and Jeon Jui, KOREA, 21-14 21-15 .
XD Final
Yoo Yeon Seong and Park So Young, KOREA, def. Denis Grachev and Ekaterina Bolotova, RUSSIA, 21-14 17-21 21-14