NMI to welcome badminton players from around the world

The two 2024 Paris Olympic qualifying tournaments that the NMI is hosting in June have so far attracted over 100 players from across the globe.

Players that have signed up for the Marianas Open that will run from June 6 to 11 and the Saipan International from June 13 to 18 are from South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Hungary, Spain, Malaysia, Chinese-Taipei, Vietnam, Guatemala, Thailand, India, Slovakia, and the U.S. mainland. Chinese-Taipei has the most participants so far with more than 30, while four countries have registered at least 10 players for each competition that the Northern Marianas Badminton Association is hosting with sanctioned and guidance from Badminton Oceania and Badminton Worl Federation.

“We are excited to welcome these athletes to the NMI as they vie for qualifying points for the 2024 Paris Olympics. We’ve seen a high-level competition last year when we hosted the 2022 Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games and expect even higher level of games come this June,”  Northern Marianas Badminton Association president Merlie Tolentino said.

Tolentino added that the competition is also good for NMBA volunteers and technical officials, who received training from Badminton Oceania in the last Pacific Mini Games and now have more opportunities to officiate at events and see world-class badminton.

NMBA vice president Nate Guerrero, on the other hand, said the two events are great opportunities not only for NMI residents to witness high-level games anew, but also for the islands’ players themselves, as they can also enter the two tournaments.

“Our players are looking forward to the experience. We’ve played against representatives from the Oceania and Pacific during the Mini Games and we learned a lot from the competition. This time, it’s going to be a different set of players and skill level, so we are excited to challenge them,” Guerrero said.

The Marianas Open and Saipan International are classified as International Challenge, which is one of the events under the BWF World Ranking system. The other ranking events are World Championship, World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and Super 100. Besides the world ranking points that athletes will need to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, they will also battle for the $15,000 total prize money per each tournament.

This is the first time in the history of Badminton Oceania that back-to-back Challenge events will be played in the same country and same venue—the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. The highly improved facility was the same venue for the Mini Games and will be welcoming back badminton players and visiting technical officials from the Badminton Oceania and the coaches/team managers of the participating countries.

“At this early stage, we would like to ask for the support of our community in welcoming our visitors from around the world. Teams that participated in last year’s Pacific Mini Games were truly grateful for our island hospitality and I am sure the delegates for the two badminton tournaments we will be hosting are excited to have the same experience,” Tolentino said.

Sports tourism
Meanwhile, Jerry Tan, president of the Northern Marianas Sports Association, which manages the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium and other facilities at the Oleai Sports Complex, is pleased to have major competitions taking place in the NMI after the successful hosting of the Mini Games.

Besides the two badminton Olympic qualifiers, Oceania Cup and Marianas Championships in athletics are also scheduled at the OSC track and field facility in June, while the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium may also host the Micronesian Basketball Tournament in July this year.

“The NMSA is excited to have our national federations holding not just local competitions, but also regional and international tournaments. These high-level competitions are good for our athletes, coaches, and technical officials, as they continue to work hard to improve their skills and represent the NMI well in these events,” Tan said.

The NMSA president is hoping that more NMSA-member federations will get a chance to bring regional and international competitions to the NMI and support the Marianas Visitors Authority’s efforts in promoting sports tourism on the islands.  These types of events have a significant impact on the local economy as visiting athletes, coaches, and other members of the delegation spend on hotels, restaurants, car rentals, facilities, and other business establishments. Late last year, MVA brought in professional baseball players for a clinic at the Francisco “Tan Ko” M. Palacios Baseball Field and to play golf at various courses. Early next year, the MVA is looking at having a pro baseball team conduct a month-long winter training at the same facility.

“As we continue to maintain and improve our sports facilities, we hope to provide our athletes and the rest of the NMI community safe and better venues for competitions and health and wellness and related activities. The sports facilities can also be utilized to attract visiting sports groups that are looking for venues for training and other activities,” Tan said. (PR)