Top five oldest badminton tournaments of all-time

The All England Open is the oldest badminton tournament.

Badminton was first introduced in Pune during the British-India period. In the 1860s, the modern game of badminton began in England. The official rules of badminton were written in 1887 and then in 1899, the first badminton tournament that was organised is All England Open.

It is the most prestigious tournament in the badminton fraternity. In 1934 the International Badminton Federation was formed which is now known as Badminton World Federation. Badminton became an Olympic Sport in 1992 and has been played at the Olympics since then.

Let’s take a look at the top five oldest badminton tournaments of all time:

Also Read: Top five badminton tournaments with highest prize money ft. Malaysia Open

Malaysia Open

Malaysia Open is one of the four BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournaments. It has been held annually since 1937. The event was disrupted during World War II (1942–1946), from 1969–1982; and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021). In 2007, it became the Malaysia Super Series when the concept of Super Series came into play. Since 2018, the Malaysia Open has been included in the BWF events as one of the five BWF World Tour Super 750 tournaments. It has been upgraded to a Super 1000 tournament since 2023.

No Indians have ever won the tournament yet. The host Malaysians have won a total of 117 titles. Lee Chong Wei was the last Malaysian to win the home tournament way back in 2018. After that, no Malaysians have won the tournament.

Also Read: Top five Indian badminton players with most BWF 1000 titles

Denmark Open

The Denmark Open, formerly known as the Danish Open, is an annual badminton tournament held in Denmark and organized by Badminton Denmark. It was first inaugurated in 1936 and has been played annually since then.

The tournament was interrupted twice: during World War II (1940-1945) and was on pause from 1956-1965. Since 1966 the tournament has been happening regularly. It was part of the BWF Super Series from 2011-2017. This tournament has been rated as a Super 750 tournament on the BWF World Tour since 2018.

Only three Indians have won the Denmark Open title to date, Prakash Padukone in 1980, Saina Nehwal in 2012 and Srikanth Kidambi in 2017. The host nation has won 139 titles so far. Anders Antonsen won the last title in the 2024 edition. The badminton legend Martin Frost won seven consecutive titles from 1981 to 1986.

Singapore Open

One of six BWF World Tour Super 750 tournaments on the Singapore Open Circuit. It has been held annually since 1929 and in 1956 it was converted into a national championship. The following year, the tournament was made an open-invitation tournament held annually till 1973. In 1990, the tournament entered the International Badminton arena and was called the Federation Grand Prix Circuit.

From 2018 to 2022 it was designated as one of the seven Super 500 tournaments in the BWF World Tour and 2023 was upgraded to the BWF Super 750 tournament.

Only three Indians have won the Singapore Open; Saina Nehwal in 2010, in 2017, B. Sai Praneeth and PV Sindhu in 2022. The host nation won 122 titles so far. The women’s doubles pair of Shinta Mulia Sari and Yao Lei were the last to lift the title from the host nation in 2010. Since then, none of the Singaporean players have won the title.

Also Read: Top five fastest smashes in women’s badminton history

French Open

The French Open, the second oldest tournament in the world, holds a lot of prestige in badminton history. It is one of the five Super 750 tournaments of the BWF World Tour. The tournament has been held annually since 1909. The tournament was halted from 1915 to 1934.

Earlier, it was not considered to be the top badminton tournament but Since the inception of the Super Series, it has been in the top 10 tournaments in the world. Since 2018, the French Open was given a category of Super 750 tournament.

India has won 9.5 titles so far at the French Open. A.C. Bahree won the first title for India with his Malaysian partner in 1956 in men’s doubles. Vimal Kumar (1983, 1984), Partho Ganguli/Vikram Singh (1983), Aparna Popat (1998), Siddharth Jain (2000), Abhinn Shyam Gupta (2001), Srikanth Kidambi (2017). Satwik/Chirag (2022, 2024) are the other winners. The host nation has won 42 titles so far. The last title for them came way back in 2005.

Also Read: Top five badminton players with most BWF World Tour titles

All England Open

The All England Open, the oldest badminton competition in the world, is a BWF Super 1000 tournament on the BWF World Tour schedule. The tournament was inaugurated in 1899 and was initially a doubles tournament. In 1900 the singles competition was also introduced.

It was also considered as the unofficial World Championships till 1977. Since its beginning, the All England Open has only been suspended twice, both times as a result of World Wars I and II. It was given Super Series status in 2007, upgraded to Super Series Premier status in 2011, and then was changed to a Super 1000 tournament in 2018.

To date only two Indians have won this tournament, Prakash Padukone in 1980 and Pullela Gopichand in 2001. The host nation won a massive 194 titles so far. The last title from the host nation was won by Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms way back in 2005 in the mixed doubles. George Alan Thomas has won a record 21 titles (4 in MS, 9 in MD, 8 in XD)

There are other tournaments as well which are old but are not that famous and have a lower status today. These are the Scottish Open, Welsh Open, and Irish Open.

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