KUWAIT CITY, Oct 3: The much-awaited Kuwait Badminton Challenge 2023 hosted by the Indian Badminton Association - Kuwait (IBAK), lived up to its top billing as the 3-day event got off to a grand opening on Sept 27, 2023. The tournament was inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait HE Dr Adarsh Swaika. An hour-long inaugural ceremony which included some cultural events, started with the speech by Anesh Mathew, President of IBAK.

In his welcome address he thanked the Indian envoy for gracing the event and the special invitee Vice-Principal of Saad Al Awzi School for their presence. Speaking on the occasion Dr Swaika, who was treated to a visual spectacle like ‘never before’ in Kuwait, thanked the association for the efforts exerted by IBAK to organize such a mega event saying events such as these will help keep away the youngsters from their gadgets and spend more time on the badminton court and develop their talents and sporting skills.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Santhosh from IBAK.

The top 20 ranked Indian players and many international stars including Sumeet Reddy, an Indian Olympian put on an excellent badminton spectacle for all badminton lovers of Kuwait. The event trophy was won by team ‘5.30’, after 5 previous attempts. Team IBAK Xcite Challengers were the runners-up. IBAK All Stars and IBAK Torpedoes were the semi-finalists.

The individual event winners were awarded custom made medals, the official mascot, “KEDI” the teddy and a sash commemorating the Kuwait Badminton Challenge tournament.

Men’s Singles (Open to All) -- Winner: Raghu Mariswamy, Runner-up: Bhargav Somasundra Semi-Finalist 1: Parth Soni, Semi-Finalist 2: Muhammad Zakaria
Match 1 -- Elite Men’s Doubles: Winner: Sumeet Reddy/Nithin H Vedamurthy, Runner-up: Muhammad Ariffin/Mohammed Ashraf Semi-Finalist 1: Deep Rambhiya/Akshan Shetty Semi-Finalist 2: Sayooj Ajayakumar/Saurabh Sharma
Match 2 -- Professional Men’s Doubles Winner: Sayooj Ajayakumar/Syed Akbhar Shah, Runner-up: Mohit Jaglan/Parth Soni; Semi-Finalist 1: Dhruva Bharadwaj/Abdul Jabbar Semi-Finalist 2: Muhammed Sanusi/Dr. Manimara Chozhan
Match 3 -– Men’s Advance Doubles: Winner: Joby Mathew/Ajay Varghese, Runner-up: Wilson George/Raju Itten, Semi-Finalist 1: Shiroj Joseph/Jolly Ni; Semi-Finalist 2: Manoj Markose/Naseeb P.
Match 4 – Intermediate Doubles (IBAK Players): Winner: Justin Manuel/Sajeesh Kumar, Runner-up: Naji Hameed/Sadiq Muhammed; Semi-Finalist 1: Santhosh R/Vijay Kumar, Semi-Finalist 2: Juby George/Jeswin Jose
Men’s Doubles -- 50 years and above: Winner: Markose Bristow/Jaison Xavier, Runner-up: Xavier Raphel/Maran T; Semi-Finalist 1: Barry/Dr. Manimara Chozhan; Semi-Finalist 2: Alex Koshy/Gnanasambantham Thirunavukkarasu
Mix Doubles: Winner: Nithin H Vedamurthy/Maneesha Kukkapalli, Runner-up: Ashith Surya/Amrutha Pramuthesh; Semi-Finalist 1: Deep Rambhiya/Pranjal P Chimulkar, Semi-Finalist 2: Chandra Gopinadh/Neha Susan Biju
IBAK thanks all the sponsors, players, supporters and all the officials who made IBAK KBC 2023 a grand success.

By Paul Francis X. Fernandes
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff