Bangkok, Shanghai and Dnipro get ready for 2020 Championships

BANGKOK, Thailand – Some of the best players in the world will participate in the FISU World University Badminton Championship to be held in Bangkok, in November 2020. Coming close on the heels of Tokyo 2020, the WUC Badminton will be one of the main events on the calendar after the Olympic Games.

The FISU delegation that conducted an inspection visit was satisfied that facilities will be in place for the premier university sport event of Badminton. In fact, the 2020 edition will be the last one held as a World University Championship as the sport will be part of the Summer Universiade programme from Chengdu 2021 onwards.

“Everything is already available on the Bangkok Thonburi University (BTU) Campus,” said Fiona Testuz of FISU’s Championships department, who visited Bangkok along with Bastian Kruse, FISU’s Technical Committee Chair for Badminton. “There is a hotel, competition and training venues, catering services. The hotel is managed by the university hotel school and competition will be held in the University’s main hall, the Chanchai Acadium.”

“There is also strong support from the university and technical support from Badminton Association of Thailand,” added Testuz.

SHANGHAI, China – A FISU delegation led by Director General Paulo Ferreira and Squash Technical Committee Chair Zena Wooldridge also inspected preparations for the World University Squash Championship, to be held in Shanghai in July next year.

The two-day visit to Shanghai University of Sport (SUS) included meetings with Shi Zhihao, Vice-President of the university, Sun Wei, the vice-minister of the International Department of China University Sports Association and Shao Bin, director of SUS Training and Competition Department.

After a detailed report on the preparation work, the two sides reached a preliminary consensus on various aspects of the event and expressed confidence for a successful Championship. The delegation also visited the campus and inspected the squash courts, sports complex, student dormitories, canteen and other venues and facilities that will be used for the event.

Preparatory work that is underway includes deployment of personnel related to volunteer distribution, medical facilities, anti-doping, security and food safety. The agenda of the opening and closing ceremonies has also been drafted.

The Shanghai University of Sport can be expected to host the Squash Championship at an excellent standard, with its strong history in the sport. In 2017, their students won four gold and two silver medals in the first National College Squash Championships. A number of their students also participated in the 2018 edition of the World University Squash Championship held in Birmingham, England.

DNIPRO, Ukraine — Finally, a FISU delegation also visited Dnipro, ahead of next year’s Waterski and Wakeboard Championship. Led by Phil Chase, the FISU Technical Committee Chair and Alejandro Guerra of the FISU Championship department, the delegation visited the Sentosa Cable Park and Waterski club, where the competition will take place.

They met representatives from the Organising Committee, composed of personnel from the Ukranian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation, the National Univeristy Sports Federation and the City Hall.

Phil Chase called the facilities ‘world class’ after reviewing some recently concluded renovations. “They have a wealth of experience in organising big events with the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation, so we are very confident that this event will be successful,” added Guerra.

It will be the first ever edition where Wakeboard will be a part of the FISU World University Championship programme.