The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced on Tuesday that India will stage the BWF World Championships in 2026 and that Suzhou, China, will host the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals in 2023. The championships were scheduled to take place in Suzhou in 2021, however, due to the BWF’s inability to hold any tournaments in China this year, the event was moved to Vantaa, Finland.
The BWF World Mixed Team Championships will now be held in Suzhou in 2023, with India accepting the opportunity to host the BWF World Championships in 2026.
BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said in a release, “Suzhou has demonstrated great capabilities in planning for the 2021 edition and we look forward to bringing the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals back to China in 2023.”
“We thank host organisers Suzhou, the Chinese Badminton Association, as well as the Badminton Association of India for their cooperation during this process,” General Thomas Lund added.
The BWF World Championships is badminton’s most prestigious tournament. Players compete for the title of World Champion in this individual competition. Men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles are the five events that will be available.
The BWF World Championships were first held in 1977 and were held every two years until 2003 when they were moved to every year except the year of the Summer Olympic Games. Meanwhile, the Sudirman Cup is the World Team Championships, held every two years, and one of the most prestigious titles in the sport.
The cup is named after Dick Sudirman, a former Indonesian badminton player and the founder of the Badminton Association of Indonesia. The Sudirman Cup was held in conjunction with the World Badminton Championships (Individuals) until 2003 when it became a stand-alone event in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
