The tournament is to be held at the Lobatse Sports Complex from November 24-27. The three-day contest has had entries from within the country's shores and as far as Asia.
Countries including Nigeria, Algeria, Uganda, Egypt, Luxemburg, Kazakhstan, Jordan and India amongst others, have confirmed their participation. Pakistan and Cameroon have confirmed their withdrawal from the competition despite having registered earlier.
Speaking to Mmegi Sport this week, BBA Public Relations Officer, Thobo Tshosa said the competition now has 147 entries from an initial 214 that will participate in the men's and women's singles, the men's and women's doubles, and the mixed doubles. He said before the withdrawal deadline date on Monday (November 7), the majority of the withdrawals have been from local players.
Tshosa said the players have withdrawn due to school commitments as the tournament dates clash with end-of-year examinations. The international players meanwhile experienced difficulties with Visa applications. "We had a good number of locals who registered but some withdrew as they will be sitting for examinations that are running concurrently with the tournament.
One player, Godknows Ketlhabanetswe is injured. We (also) had a challenge with the online Visa application system, which went down hence we have to start helping the players who are coming with Visa applications," Tshosa said.
He, however, said the preparations for the tournament are at an advanced stage and by the end of the month, the BBA will be ready to host one of the biggest tournaments in this year's calendar. There is no prize money for the tournament but players will earn points to improve their continental and world rankings. "With the preparations, we are currently at 70% to close all the logistics for the games.
We are still looking for shuttle services for players as they arrive in Botswana from the airport to Lobatse and vice-versa. There is no prize money but players acquire points. The points accumulated are personal, for example, if the Olympics requests for players, they can specify which players they want based on points.
Also, the points help in seeding athletes. They are used to rank athletes in all BWF (Badminton World Federation) tournaments," Tshosa said. At 147 entries, this is the biggest badminton this year as it surpasses the 140 entries set by the Gaborone Open earlier this year.
