Winners celebrate after the closing ceremony.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 15: The 25th of September 2025 will be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of the sporting partnership developed between the Indian Badminton Association-Kuwait (IBAK) and the Kuwaiti Danish Dairy Company (KDD).

A vast array of guests lined up in the evening at the IBAK Gym in Salwa to inaugurate the 10th edition of the KDD-KBL.

Chief Guest of the day was Mr V. V. Subramanian, the Vice-President & Chief Business Officer of KDD. The Special Guest of the evening was Ms Aisha Al Wayel, CEO of Aspire Kuwait.

They were accompanied on the dais by Special Invitee Mr. James Zhang, MD of ARG Kuwait, Mr. Praveen Singh, Director of the Financial Services Group at Al Mulla Exchange, and various sponsors associated with each of the eight participating teams. The IBAK Organising Committee was seen in its full strength behind the dais.

A special memento commemorating the 10th anniversary of the tournament was presented to Mr Subramanian. The other guests were presented with colourful flower bouquets.

All the athletes were orderly and organized in front of the dais, headed by their respective captains in a colourful array of jerseys, proudly displaying their individual team flags that were distributed by the team representatives.

Dr Manimara Chozhan welcomed all the guests, players, and supporters who thronged the packed hall to witness some competitive badminton that will be conducted over four days from 25th September to 3rd October.

A souvenir commemorating the decade of the tournament was released by the Chief Guest, who received the first copy. All the guests were also presented with copies of the souvenir.

All the captains of the eight participating teams then presented their team flags to the organisers, and they were aligned and hoisted on top of the dais. Ms Aisha declared the tournament open and wished all the players the very best for their matches.

The eight participating teams of the competition had around 140 players grouped into seven categories. A cake, which symbolised the opening of the tournament, was then cut and distributed to the gathering, and the games opened to a thrilling roar of anticipation from the teams, players, supporters, and the gathered crowd.

The Eight Teams Were:

Team USC (Owned by Mr Alex Koshey and Mr Jyothirajan)

Team Vikings (Owned by Mr Srinivas)

Team Elite Badminton Club (Owned by Mr Hussain H. H.)

Team Scorpions (Owned by Mr Nikhil & Mr Santhosh)

Team Oriental (Owned by Oriental Insurance Company)

Team ISA (Owned by Mr Rajeev)

Team Royal Stars (Owned by Mr Binoy Rajan)

Team 5.30 (Owned by a conglomerate of players)

The competition got off to a fiery start as soon as the festivities were concluded, and all teams swung into action with zeal and fervour.

The competition, being conducted in two pools of four teams each and employing the round-robin cum elimination format, was spectacular as well as passionate.

Over the first two days of the competition, four teams successfully managed to enter the knock-out stages. The drama and passion that is commonplace in such an intense competition continued into the late hours on the first day, and the athletes were back on court the following day with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.

Matches swung back and forth with many games going up to the last point of the third game. In a nerve-wracking and muscle-creaking plethora of games, the players gave their all on the courts, leaving the audience wanting more.

Some of the youngsters taking part in such a competition for the very first time got a ringside view of the heat and intensity of battle and rose up to the occasion for their respective teams, notching up important tie wins.

Each Tie Had Seven Categories:

Professional Men’s Doubles

Advance Men’s Doubles

Super Combo Men’s Doubles

Ladies Doubles

Mixed Doubles

Intermediate Men’s Doubles

Open Men’s Doubles

The four battle-weary teams that qualified for the knock-outs were:

Team USC, Team Vikings, Team Elite Badminton Club, and Team Scorpions.

KDD supplied free products under the “Good for Me” brand throughout the tournament.

After a series of intense and closely contested matches, the tournament concluded with the following results:

Champions: Team USC

Runners-up: Team Scorpions

Semi-finalists: Elite Badminton Club and Team Vikings

Final Match Summary:

During the final battle, Team USC took the lead by winning the Professional Men’s Doubles.

Team Scorpions fought back by winning both Advanced Men’s Doubles and Super Combo Men’s Doubles.

The Ladies Doubles and Intermediate Doubles were won by Team USC, giving them a narrow advantage.

Team Scorpions responded by winning the Open Men’s Doubles, but Team USC sealed victory by clinching the decisive Mixed Doubles match.

Looking Ahead:

Adding to the event's significance, Dr Manimara Chozhan, Chairman of IBAK, announced the official IBAK Tournament Calendar for 2026, giving the badminton community much to look forward to in the coming year.

As KDD-KBL steps into its next decade, it stands as a testament to how sport can unite, inspire, and elevate. The league continues to promote badminton at the grassroots level, providing a platform for amateur and semi-professional players to compete and grow.

IBAK remains committed to improving badminton in Kuwait. As part of these efforts, IBAK will conclude the year 2025 by organising:

IBAK Al-Mulla Exchange Cup on 30th and 31st October 2025

Inter-School Tournament in December 2025

For more information, visit www.ibakwt.org or email [email protected]