87th Senior National Badminton Championship Begins in Vijayawada

VIJAYAWADA: The 87th Senior National Badminton Championship–2025 was formally inaugurated at the Chennupati Ramakotaiah Municipal Corporation Indoor Stadium at Patamata here on Wednesday. The week-long championship will run until December 28 and features leading shuttlers from across the country.

Home minister Vangalapudi Anitha declared the championship open and lauded the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, the Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association and the Badminton Association of India for bringing one of the nation’s most prestigious badminton events to the State.

Anitha said hosting a championship of this stature reflected Andhra Pradesh’s growing sporting culture and commitment to nurturing talent. She also appreciated the vision of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan and minister for education, IT and electronics Nara Lokesh for giving priority to sports development.

During the ceremony, the minister was introduced to the participating teams and later joined officials for a friendly badminton match, drawing cheers from the audience. The Andhra Pradesh women’s team, which recently won a silver medal at the national level, was felicitated.

The event was attended by SAAP chairman Animini Ravi Naidu, vice-chairman and MD S. Bharani, APBA president Dwarakanath and tournament organising secretary P. Ankamma Choudary, among others.