The 2019 European Games will carry world ranking points and that fact gets a lot of positive response. Not only from the players.
From June 24-30, 160 European badminton players will take part in the second European Games; The 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus.
The BWF Council has decided to allocate world ranking points to the Games which means that the winners of the 2019 European Games will therefore get 7.000 points.
Great step forward
It is the first time that the European Games, which is a Continental Multi-Sport Games, will carry world ranking points and in one of the bigger badminton countries in Europe, England, the reactions are positive.
- I am pleased that the 2019 European Games will carry world ranking points. This is a great step forward for the Games, Adrian Christy, Chief Executive at Badminton England tells Badminton Europe.
- I am sure our players will relish the opportunity to compete for Great Britain in another multi-sport Games knowing their efforts will earn them vital qualification points towards Tokyo 2020.
- Points won’t make us downgrade
In the top nation of European badminton, Denmark’s Sports Director is also pleased.
- The points themselves are not the central aspect of playing the European Games but obviously it will not make us downgrade this tournament. But how we are going to plan for it and which players that will go is too soon to tell and will also depend on the international calendar, Jens Meibom says.
4000 athletes, 15 sports and 198 medals
The Games will include ten days of competition in all sports, which will take place at 12 different competition venues.
The badminton arena will be Falcon Club – a big and modern arena:
4000 athletes from 50 European National Olympic Committees will take part in the 2019 European Games. They will fight for one of the 198 medals in one of the 15 sports, which is part of the games in Minsk.