AXIATA CUP - NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

What is Axiata Cup?

Axiata Cup made its debut this year (2012) and aimed to become an exciting annual event in the badminton calender, ultimately putting itself alongside (if not beyond) the other big events in badminton -- All-England, Thomas Cup and Sudirman Cup. It is a regional badminton event created for the Axiata Group, one of Asia's largest telecom company. In its debut, which begun on 23rd March 2012, it features top East Asian teams, which are Malaysia and Indonesia, with each of this country sending two teams to represent their country. These are also the host countries of this event this year, which introduces the 'home/away' format, where games are held in both countries simultaneously. Besides the two countries, other East Asia countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines also sends one team from their country to compete in this competition. And perhaps, the most talked about element of this event is the prize money, where it offers a staggering total prize money of USD 1 million. 

Credits Earned?

Axiata Cup has definitely earned many credits and praises for their debut event this year. The huge prize money of USD 1 million definitely tops the list of those credits. It manages to attract many big names in East Asian badminton arena, including Lee Chong Wei, Taufiq Hidayat, Hafiz Hashim, Simon Santoso, Boonsak Ponsana, Mathias Boe, Sony Dwi Kuncoro. 

At the same time, it is also a breath of fresh air for the badminton players and fans alike as it is the first new event in badminton calender in almost a decade. It also introduces many interesting things in this championship, making it unique from the other big badminton events. Some of the unique elements in this championship are:

• It is the first time that a badminton events are being hosted in two different countries simultaneously - Malaysia and Indonesia.

• It is the first to use the 'home / away' format in badminton - a format borrowed from the football.

• It is the first to use virtual ads on surrounding boards through Axiata's engagement of Brand Magic, which allows them to reduce the amount of distraction on the court for the players. 

• It is the first to allow multiple teams from one country and first to allow foreign players on the teams. 

Room for Improvement?
With 2012 being the 'birth' year of Axiata Cup, it is quite understandable that it has some glaring room to improve. I would put it mainly on its planning and timing.

• Knowing that Olympic means a big deal to the badminton players, why did Axiata Cup decided to debut their presence in this Olympic year of 2012? Olympic is not an annual event, so why not make its debut in 2011 or after the Olympic in 2013?

• Axiata Cup also made its appearance right in between two big badminton events - which is soon after the All-England Championship and so near to the Thomas Cup competitions. These would hamper the chance of the players to be at their top form. This particularly true for World Number 1 Lee Chong Wei. Although he is listed in the names of player in this Axiata Cup, he is only put as reserved due to his shoulder injury he sustained during the All-England match, which saw Chong Wei have had to give a walk over to Lin Dan to win the All-England Championship. 

• It is also learnt that some of the matches began late because the broadcasters in Indonesia are not flexible with their schedules. 

Well, whatever it is, as a badminton fan, I look forward to see how Axiata Cup progresses over the next few years.