KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday confirmed that India has been awarded the hosting rights of the World Championships in 2026 while Suzhou, China, will stage the Sudirman Cup Finals 2023.
Suzhou was due to host the championships in 2021, but with BWF unable to stage any tournaments in China this year, the event was switched to Vantaa in Finland. Suzhou will now stage the 2023 edition of the BWF World Mixed Team Championships, with original 2023 hosts 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."
The BWF World Championships is the most prestigious tournament in badminton. First held in 1977 and originally hosted every two years, the BWF World Championships has, since 2003, been held every year except the year of the Summer Olympic Games.
Until 2003 the Sudirman Cup took place alongside the World Badminton Championships before becoming a stand-alone Championships for the first time in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in 2003.
