Axiata Cup To Offer US$1 Million In Prize Money

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- The inaugural Axiata Cup, an invitational badminton tournament sanctioned by the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) will offer USD1 million (RM3.03 million) in prize money. Sponsored by the emerging leader in Asian mobile telecommuniations, Axiata Group Berhad, the tournament to be held at two venues - Malaysia and Indonesia - will feature a men's team competition comprising two singles and a doubles match. The competition, expected to start on March 23 and last for four weeks, is expected to feature all the top players in the world. South East Asian teams, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines are expected to be divided into eight groups. Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Deputy President Datuk Mohamed Al-Amin Abdul Majid said the country's elite players, including world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei, and players from clubs would take part in the competition. "The format of the Axiata Cup is slightly different from other tournaments since teams can include one player from other countries like China or Denmark even though the tournament is restricted to ASEAN countries. "This tournament provides an opportunity for players from clubs, especially players like Zulfadli Zulkifli, a chance to showcase their talent," Axiata Chief Executive Officer Jamaludin Ibrahim told reporters after launching the tournament at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here Wednesday. Meanwhile, Total Sports Asia Chief Executive Officer Marcus Leur said Malaysia and Indonesia would enter two teams each. "The semi-finals and final will be played on a home and away format. Each tie between teams will feature three matches - two singles and a double. The unique feature is that each team is allowed to field one foreign player in the form of a singles player or part of the doubles team," he said. Leur said after the group stages, the two top teams from each group would play a home and away format in the semifinals on separate weekends and the final would be held in the same home and away format. "The winning team will receive USD400,000 (RM1.21 million), second place USD200,000 (RM605,634), each of the two losing semi-finalists USD100,000 (RM302,817) and each of the four quarterfinalists receive USD50,000 (RM151,408)," he said. -- BERNAMA