IPINAGKATIWALA sa bansa ng Badminton Asia ang hosting ng 3rd Badminton Asia Team Championships na gaganapin sa Pebrero 11 hanggang 16 sa Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Ayon kay  Badminton Asia chief operating officer Chit Boon Saw, ito ay dahil sa nakikita niyang pagsigla ng sport sa Pilipinas.

“I think the Philippines is one of the fastest developing nations in badminton. And it is good to bring an event like this in a developing badminton country,” wika ni Saw.

Unang naging host ang bansa ng Asian Championships noong 2001.

“The game can be promoted to the masses better with an event like this,” dagdag ni Saw.

Maliban sa Thomas (men’s) at Uber (women’s) Cups sa Denmark na magaganap sa Mayo, ang Badminton Asia Team Championships tournament ang huling baraha ng mga top shuttlers para makatipon ng sapat na puntos para mag-qualify sa 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Kaya 290 shuttlers mula sa iba’t ibang kontinente ang inaasahang darating sa bansa sa pangunguna ng defending men’s champion Indonesia at women’s champion Japan.

Labinlimang (15) men’s teams at labing-apat (14) na women’s squads ang maglalaban-laban sa biennial meet.

Bawat division ay hahatiin sa apat na groups, kung saan ang top 2 teams sa kada grupo ay aabante sa knockout stage.

Ang team format ay best-of-five encounter sa 3 singles matches at 2 doubles matches.

Sinabi ni Saw, ang magaganap na tournament ay isang malaking oportunindad sa Philippine national team para sa panibagong experience sa naturang sport.

“I hope the Philippine team takes this as an opportunity to learn and grow in the team event. As you know, there are not a lot of team tournaments in the world so this will be a good opportunity to learn on your home court.”

Tinutukoy ni Saw ay ang 1-2 sa men’s at 0-3 sa women’s division showing ng bansa noong 2018 edition ng meet.

Naniniwala rin siya na matagumpay na magagampanan ng Philippine Badminton Association ang pagiging host nito sa naturang tournement.

“I think it will be a successful event because of the venue and the people working in the event. The venue is really suitable. I believe that it will be a good hosting,” sabi pa ni Saw.   EBG