India to host 2026 Badminton WC

New Delhi, July 13: India will host the World Badminton Championships in 2026, the sport’s global governing body, BWF, said on Tuesday. India were scheduled to organise the Sudirman Cup in 2023 but the Badminton World Federation decided to award the hosting rights of the world mixed team championships to China.
The BWF was forced to shift this year’s Sudirman Cup from Suzhou, China to Vantaa, Finland due to the COVID-19 situation. “Suzhou will now stage the 2023 edition of the BWF World Mixed Team Championships, with original 2023 hosts India accepting the opportunity to host the BWF World Championships in 2026,” the BWF said in a media release.
“The Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm Suzhou, China has been awarded the hosting rights of the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2023. “Suzhou was due to host the championships in 2021, but with BWF unable to stage any tournaments in China this year, the event was switched to Vantaa in Finland.”
This will only be the second time that India will be hosting the world championship, with Hyderabad having played hosts to the prestigious event in 2009. “Staging a tournament of the stature of World Championships is a great achievement for us at Badminton Association of India as well as for the country,” Badminton Association of India (BAI) president Himanta Biswa Sarma said. (PTI)