Ace Shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa announces Red Bull Shuttle Up in Hyderabad

~ Countries first and only – exclusively Women’s Badminton doubles tournament.

~The National Champions of the tournament get the delightful opportunity to play against the best badminton doubles player in the country Ashwini Ponnappa and her partner

Hyderabad/Team Estrade//–  India’s ace shuttler and Red Bull Athlete Ashwini Ponnappa announced the first ever exclusive women’s doubles tournament in the country, Red Bull Shuttle Up on, 26^th September at B- Dubs, Hyderabad. With the growing popularity of the sport be it viewership (5^th most viewed) or participation (2^nd most played), the tournament aims to further boost and improve participation and popularity amongst aspiring women players. Red Bull Shuttle Up Qualifiers will be held across 5 cities – Delhi, Bangalore, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The winning pair gets an exciting opportunity to play against the best badminton doubles player in the country Ashwini Ponnappa and her partner

Qualifier Details:

India’s ace women doubles shuttler and Red Bull athlete Ashwini Ponnappa said, “My dream is to create awareness and promote doubles badminton in the country. More job opportunities for doubles players, more exposure for tournaments, and prize money in par with singles will motivate youngsters to focus on doubles and take it up seriously. Things have definitely changed over the years, today’s youngsters are definitely focusing and switching to doubles at a younger age. We now have specialist coaches just for doubles and that has helped improved the standards of play. There is a better understanding between partners and many youngsters are taking up doubles from an early age, which is a great sign. Many Indian doubles pairs have reached semi-finals and quarterfinals in previous tournaments, which is a clear indication that we are heading towards the right direction. We still have a long way to go though. I thank Red Bull for supporting me in my dream initiative of Red Bull Shuttle Up providing aspiring women players the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. This will further enhance and uplift the level of participation, popularity and support for women’s doubles badminton in our country”.

Open exclusively for women above the age of 16, all matches will be played on the knock out basis where all pairs will play a best of 3 sets with 11 points (rally points) instead of the traditional 21 points a set. Each pair, with prior notification to the referee can call for a super point once in a set. By calling for a super point, the pair will get 2 points if they win that particular point. There will be no deduction of points if the pair loses that point. Players must be prepared to play 5/6 matches in a day, during the event. 6 pairs will qualify for the National Finals (first week of November) i.e the winners from each city (5 cities) + 1 lucky losing pair. Lucky loser will be the pair that lost the finals but scored the maximum number of points in that match. In case of 2 teams tied on the same number of points, the same from the previous round will be considered.

For more information on and registrations for Red Bull Shuttle Up, kindly visit – www.redbull.in/shuttleup

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Ace Shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa announces Red Bull Shuttle Up in Hyderabad