By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, Jan 8 — Selangor will once again host the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) 2024, to be held at the Setia Alam Convention Centre from February 13 to February 18.
[caption id="attachment_328870" align="alignleft" width="423"]
State executive councillor for youth generation and sports Mohd Najwan Halimi speaks during the handover ceremony for the portfolio at Kompleks Belia dan Kebudayaan Negeri Selangor in Section 7, Shah Alam, on August 24, 2023. — Picture by REMY ARIFIN/SELANGORKINI[/caption]
State executive councillor for sports Najwan Halimi said over 300 players, including world-class participants from Japan, China, Indonesia, Korea, Singapore, India, and Thailand, will compete in the prestigious championship.
"BATC serves as a platform for the best Asian players to qualify for the 2024 Thomas and Uber Cup, scheduled to take place in Chengdu, China, in May.
"Lee Zii Jia, Aaron Chia, and Soh Wooi Yik are expected to represent the country. However, the final list of players has yet to be decided," he told SelangorKini.
Najwan added that other prominent athletes set to participate in BATC include Japan's Akane Yamaguchi and Kento Momota, China's Li Shifeng and Chen Yu Fei, India's Prannoy H. S. and PV Sindhu, as well as Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonathan Christie.
In 2022, Selangor hosted its inaugural BATC, organised by the Selangor Sports Council in collaboration with Badminton Asia and the Badminton Association of Malaysia.
During the six-day championship, the national men's team emerged as champions, while the women's squad settled for third place after a 0 - 3 defeat to South Korea.
The matches involved 142 athletes from eight countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Kazakhstan.
