Another International Badminton Championship under the title: "Laos International challenge 2009" will be held in the capital city of Laos, Vientiane, from 28th July to 1st August 2009. In this event, 8 countries will take part in the Lao Future Series, none of the players participating there are ranked among the top 20 in the world.
photo: Mr Bounleua Sinxayvoravong, Lao BF Secretary General and Mr Ben, Referee
It should be noted that the Laos Badminton Federation is using this championship as a preparatory event for the more prestigious South East Asia Games which it hosts next year. The SEA Games will attract some of the best players of the sport, among them the highly ranked stars from Indonesia and Malaysia. The LAO badminton federation hopes to use this Future Series to help familiarize and train technical officials who would be assisting to officiate during the SEA Games.
With a follow-up event called the Challenger set for 2009, there is hope that badminton can continue to flourish in the area and that the event is even bigger next year. With a prize fund of US $15,000 on offer, there is every chance that a better class of player will be looking to take part in the event.
Source: Badmintoasia
