This year's Norwegian International Championships, an International Challenge tournament with 15.000 US Dollars in prize money, will host 220 players coming from 34 countries all over the world. Norway's closest neighbours Denmark and Sweden are sending the largest teams but there will be players from as far afield as New Zealand, South Korea, Australia and Malaysia.

The tournament will take place at Bygdø, a peninsula jutting into the fjord in Norway’s capital city Oslo. Qualifications will start on 16th of November and finals will be played on Sunday the 19th.

The local Norwegian players will have a tough challenge in this year’s tournament with facing players ranked amongst the top 30 on the world rankings. Marius Myhre (pictured), ranked 134 in the world, offers Norway's greatest chance for advancing forward. His recent development has seen him climbing almost 100 ranking spots since the last Norwegian International Championships in 2011.

The leading entries for men’s singles are Chun Seang Tan of Malaysia, who won this year’s Bulgarian Open, Tahiti International and Peru International and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, who won this year’s Bitburger Open and Canada Open. Both players are among the 35 best players in the world. Last year’s winner Ville Lång of Finland also entered into the tournament.

Bulgaria’s number two shuttler Linda Zetchiri, who won the Norwegian International in 2011, and Czech number one Kristina Gavnholt who won this year’s Dutch Open are the leading contenders in the women’s singles event.

The line-up also includes Germany's top mixed and doubles player Michael Fuchs, who is ranked among the top 25 in the world with his partners Oliver Roth and Birgit Michels.

To view the draws and results of Norwegian International click here.
To see all previous champions of the tournament click here.

Further information available at: www.badminton.no.

Press release and photo by Sophie Thorell.