After four decades Thailand will host a badminton 'major" next year when Bangkok was picked to as the venue for next year's TOTAL BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals – taking its first step to boost the game in the country.
The Thai city staved off a strong challenge to beat New Delhi, India and Badminton Association of Thailand deputy president Paisan Rangsikitpho described the successful bid as a shot in the arm for the shuttle sport in Thailand.
"It means a lot for us to host a major badminton event in Thailand as it is our goal to make badminton the No 1 sport in Thailand," said Rangsikitpho.
The venue for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals is the Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani in northern Bangkok with a seating capacity of 12,000. Thailand last hosted a 'major' in 1976 and that is the time when the Thomas Cup was held separately before the merger with Uber Cup in 1984.
Asia will also play host to another badminton major next year with Nanjing, China winning the bid for the BWF World Championships and this will be played at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Park Indoor Arena which has a seating capacity of 20,000.
Two other venues were also announced for two badminton major events for 2019. The TOTAL BWF Sudirman Cup also went to China with Nanning as the host. The meet will be played at the Guangxi Sports Centre Gymnasium with a capacity of 8,700.
The 2019 TOTAL BWF World Championships will be played in Basel, Switzerland. The Swiss city beat Tokyo for the bid. The Japanese city was bidding to stage the event ahead of the 2020 Tokyo OIympics.
Missing out on hosting the World Championships 2019 is a big disappointment for Japan as it was hoping to the test the venue before the Olympics.
The world championships will be played at St Jakobshalle which boasts of a 9,000 seating capacity.
TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2018
Host: Bangkok, Thailand
Venue: Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani
Seating capacioty: 12,000
TOTAL BWF World Championships 2018
Host: Nanjing, China
Venue: Nanjing Youth Olympic Park Indoor Arena
Seating capacity: 20,000
TOTAL BWF Sudirman Cup 2019
Host: Nanning, China
Venue: Guangxi Sports Centre Gymnasium
Seating capacity: 8,700
TOTAL BWF World Championships 2019
Host: Basel, Switzerland
Venue: St. Jakobshalle
Seating capacity: 9,000
