KUWAIT CITY, July 10: To celebrate World Badminton Day, the Indian Badminton Association Kuwait (IBAK) conducted the Summer Smash Tournament at its Salwa Gym (Saad Al Awzi School).
Despite Kuwait’s hot weather, the competition inside the IBAK Salwa stadium was even hotter, with top players battling it out for titles. Over 100 spectators enjoyed the thrilling matches.
The tournament featured two categories -- Flight 1 Pro-Advance Men’s Doubles and Flight 2 Higher-Lower Intermediate Doubles.

In the fiercely contested Pro-Advance Men’s Doubles final, Syed Akbar and Edwin Bobby triumphed over Dhruva Bharadwaj and Mallu Chandhramouli with 23-21, 21-12 scores.
In the Higher-Lower Intermediate Doubles category, Siva Kumar and Vinod Kumar secured a relatively easy victory over Rufus Shibu Samuel and Ayub Alkautsar, winning 21-13, 21-14.

The IBAK executive committee organized the tournament flawlessly and professionally. Winners, runners-up, and semi-finalists were awarded medals and cash prizes.
Aligned with its vision to promote badminton in Kuwait, IBAK regularly offers coaching for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players, led by reputed overseas coaches.

The upcoming tournaments include the Kuwait Badminton League 2024, IBAK SLAM 2024, and IBAK Interschool Tournament. IBAK can be reached at www.ibakwt.org or [email protected]

Pro-Advance Men’s Doubles winners -- Syed Akbar and Edwin Bobby
Runners-up -- Dhruva Bharadwaj and Mallu Chandramouli
Semi-Finalist 1 -- Moo Elkhyat and Surya Kanth
Semi-Finalist 2 -- Shrihari Ganga and Siraj Salavemula
Higher-Lower Intermediate Doubles winners -- Vinod Kumar and Siva Kumar
Runners-up -- Ayub Alkaustar and Rufus Shibu Samuel
Semifinalist 1 -- Lijo Jose and Sodique Hamid
Semifinalist 2 -- Anil Aaditya and Liyanfen Titto

By Paul Francis X. Fernandes
Arab Times/Al-Seyassah Staff