JOIN USTop badminton stars, including two-time All England champion Tine Baun of Denmark and world No 4 Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro, will participate in the inaugural edition of the $1 million Indian Badminton League (IBL), scheduled to be held from June 24 to July 11.
Sony, who will begin with a base price of $50,000 for the ‘Player Auction’, and compatriot world No 10 Simon Santaso will be the stars from Indonesia, while Europe will be represented by continental champion Marc Zwiebler of Germany and Danish world No 11 Jan O Jorgensen.
Olympics men’s doubles silver medalist and world No 1 Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen from Denmark have also sent their confirmation to go under the hammer.
Among others, men’s world No 8 Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam and the 2012 Olympics bronze medalist in doubles, Lee Yong-dae, have also confirmed their availability for the biggest prize money badminton tournament in the world.
Besides world No 7 Tine, the women’s circuit will witness top players such as German world No 4 Juliane Schenk and world No 9 Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei.
Sony, who was just 20 when he won the bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics, said the IBL will raise the quotient of badminton across the globe.
“It is a great thing that the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has come up with a concept like this. It is a one of a kind initiative and will provide a rich learning experience for all the players and allow the fans to witness the crème-de-la-crème of the badminton world on a single platform. I feel it will bring fans closer to the sport,” said the Indonesian.
The player auction will be held by the end of next month.