Sony to broadcast Yonex-Sunrise India Open

Matches to be broadcast on Sony Ten 1 and livestreamed on SonyLIV.

It is time for the fans to brace themselves for yet another season of exciting badminton action in the country, with the Badminton Association of India (BAI) having announced Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) as the exclusive broadcast partner for the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2022, which is currently being played in New Delhi and will go on till January 16, 2022.

The BAI has been organising the 11th edition of the tournament, and now viewers are all set to witness exciting on-court action featuring reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew, bronze medallist Lakshya Sen, as well as two-time Olympics medallist PV Sindhu and 2015 India Open champion Saina Nehwal, all of whom are headlining the draws at the tournament.

The action will be shown live on Sony Ten 1 and livestreamed on SonyLIV, SPN’s premium OTT platform, starting from the quarter-finals on January 14 until the end of the tournament on January 16.

BAI General Secretary Ajay Singhania spoke about the development, commenting:

“We are glad to have Sony Pictures Networks India as the broadcaster for the Yonex-Sunrise India Open. Unfortunately, this year we are not having spectators as well as media covering the event, but now they can enjoy the action from their home and watch world-class badminton action played in India after a long time.”

With close to 22 hours of live badminton action available both on the television channel and the digital platform, badminton enthusiasts will be able to see top shuttlers, including the three-time world champion duo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan along with other top-ranked players, like World No. 12 Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand, Singapore’s Jia Min Yeo and the pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and HS Prannoy among the Indians, as the tournament completes a decade of hosting the sport.

Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India added:

“Badminton has a passionate following in the country, and we are happy to broadcast Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2022. Close to 70 million viewers followed the sport on TV in 2021 due to the strong performances of Indian players like PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen, who won medals at global marquee tournaments last year. Badminton was also one of the top watched sports disciplines in the recently held 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on our network, with PV Sindhu’s semi-final match achieving the highest ratings on TV among all the Olympic events that were telecasted.”

The prestigious event, which also kick-started the BWF World Tour calendar, made a return after a gap of two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is being played at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall at India Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi, and the live coverage of the tournament will start from 12:30 PM on January 14 and run until January 16, 2022.