KUALA LUMPUR – The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has strong reasons for stepping in to take over the hosting rights for the Malaysia Super 100 tournament, scheduled for October 15 to 20.
At the heart of their decision is the desire to strengthen the tournament’s brand, especially since this is only the second year Malaysia has been granted the prestigious Super 100 status by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Speaking to Scoop, BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh explained that they want to ensure the tournament is stable and successful before handing it back to state associations for future organisation.
Last year, the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Association (KLBA) was given the responsibility to host the event. They branded it as the KL Masters Malaysia Super 100, held at Stadium Titiwangsa with a prize pool of $100,000 (RM420,328).
“We will host this tournament (Super 100) this year and then assess its success. This involves policy considerations, and we will discuss whether it can be handed over to other states in the future.
“There are many factors involved, including logistics and various other aspects. We feel the tournament isn’t stable yet, and we want to strengthen it first before considering the next steps.
“Last year, KLBA showed great interest and did an excellent job. However, our focus now is on stabilising the tournament in the Klang Valley before we think about the next steps,” said Kenny.
This year, BAM will host the tournament at Stadium Juara, Bukit Kiara. It has been reported that tickets will be available for as low as RM10, along with several other attractive packages for attendees.
This strategy aims to draw in large crowds to watch the tournament. The prices are significantly lower than last year’s edition, where the cheapest early bird ticket was RM35.
“Although the tickets are cheap, seating is very limited due to the stadium’s capacity, so it’s first come, first served,” he added. – September 23, 2024.
