China to host badminton World Tour Finals for 4 years, event to be held in Asian Games city of Hangzhou
- Flagship event to be held on mainland in December for first time since 2019 when it took place in Guangzhou
- Finals are latest major sporting event to return to country, with golf, tennis and Formula One all coming back
International badminton’s flagship event, the World Tour Finals, will be held in Hangzhou for the next four years, a further sign the post-Covid revival of major sports events in China is gathering pace.
Starting in December, the finals will be held in the Asian Games city, the Badminton World Federation said late on Wednesday.
The finals were last held in China four years ago, when they took place in Guangzhou.
“It is with great excitement to confirm Hangzhou, China as the host of our flagship HSBC BWF World Tour Finals for this cycle,” Thomas Lund, the BWF secretary general, said.
“Badminton is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world with all-time high participation and fan numbers and Hangzhou with its superb sporting infrastructure and experience in staging elite international events is an ideal host for our finals.
“We look forward to the tour’s top eight players and pairs in each category fighting it out for glory in front of thousands of passionate fans.”
Hangzhou hosts the Asian Games next month, and the finals are the latest addition to China’s growing calendar of major sporting events.
Top-class tennis makes a full-throttle return to the country from September, with the women’s WTA Tour staging six tournaments after reversing a boycott initiated because of concerns about the safety of Chinese player Peng Shuai.
The men’s ATP Tour will return with four events, culminating in October’s prestigious Shanghai Masters featuring the world’s top players.
Diamond League athletics, international golf and snooker events are all scheduled to return to China this year.
Formula One’s Chinese Grand Prix, in Shanghai, will return in April 2024 after last being staged in 2019.
“We are delighted to work with the BWF and Hangzhou City Government to bring the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals to China,” Zhang Jun, the Chinese Badminton Association president, said.
“With its profound history and popularity here, badminton activities are ubiquitous in Hangzhou. It is an honour for the local government to be the host for the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals. And all top players around the world are welcomed to gather in the city.”
