BAI Center of Excellence to open in Guwahati on August 11; triumphant Thomas Cup squad to be feted during 24-court facility inauguration

In 2019 during the 83rd Senior National Badminton Championship in Guwahati, the officials of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Assam Badminton Association were nowhere to hide when Saina Nehwal refused to play her first-round match on the uneven surface. The organisers had to quickly prepare a make-shift wooden court at the adjacent other venue in which Saina later played late in the evening and then went on to retain the women’s singles title beating PV Sindhu in an epic summit clash.