Assam: Guwahati to host 2025 BWF World Junior Championships

Guwahati: India’s image as one of the nerve centres of world badminton got a further boost on Tuesday (April 30) when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) allotted the hosting rights of the '2025 BWF World Junior Championships’ to Assam’s Guwahati.

The decision was taken during the BWF’s Annual General Meet (AGM) in China’s Chengdu city on the sidelines of the ‘BWF Thomas and Uber Cup 2024.’

The prestigious tournament, which India will host for the second time, will be held at the new state-of-the-art National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, which has also earned acclaim globally from all quarters for the facilities and stadium capacity since its inauguration in August 2023.

The National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati boasts 14 badminton courts, an international standard gymnasium and a seating capacity of around 4,000 spectators.

“India’s production line of elite badminton talent is booming and it is of great significance for the BWF to bring our World Juniors to India. Badminton Association of India's (BAI's) brand new National Centre of Excellence is a state-of-the-art facility for badminton and will be the perfect arena for our next-generation talent to battle it out for team and individual glory,” BWF president Paul-Erik Hoyer said in a statement after Guwahati was confirmed as the host city.

Notably, Guwahati successfully hosted the ‘Guwahati Masters’ badminton tournament in December 2023 and the feedback was one of the key enablers in tilting the decision in India’s favour.

“The allotment of the 'BWF World Juniors’ to Guwahati is a vindication of India’s growing reputation as a badminton powerhouse which can not only just produce champion players but also host mega international events,” said BAI secretary-general Sanjay Mishra, who was also present at the AGM.

“During the ‘2023 Guwahati Masters,’ BWF officials had also visited the National Centre of Excellence to check out the facilities and other arrangements,” Mishra added.

India is already hosting the ‘Yonex Sunrise India Open’ which has been upgraded to Super 750 and the country is a host to multiple other international tournaments creating a strong circuit of one Super 300, two Super 100 and a couple of junior international events regularly.

The last time India hosted the ‘BWF World Juniors’ in Pune in 2008, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian to win the world junior title.

The following year, India hosted the ‘BWF World Championships’ in Hyderabad and in 2014 successfully hosted the Thomas & Uber Cup finals in New Delhi.