Badminton Body Rejects Wembley Proposal as Olympic Venue

Badminton’s governing federation said on Tuesday that it opposed a decision by London 2012 Olympic organizers to stage badminton events at Wembley Arena, arguing it was too far from the Olympic village.

The Badminton World Federation Council said that at a meeting in Bali last week, it came to the “unanimous conclusion that the BWF was not at this time ready to give the green light on the proposal.”

“The council firmly believed that moving badminton to the Wembley Arena implies that badminton will once again, after Barcelona, Atlanta, Athens and Beijing, be played in a stand-alone venue,” it said.

The BWF said it favored the original venue at Greenwich Arena, nearer to the heart of the Games, and that it was unhappy with the change of plan by the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games.

“We have received comprehensive material from Locog on the proposal, but the travel time in particular for the athletes is very high,” BWF president Kang Young Joong said in a statement.

“We furthermore find that the assurances provided by Locog to reduce this to a reasonable figure are still insufficient.”

Olympic organizers last month said they would scrap plans for a new temporary venue to host badminton and rhythmic gymnastics as a cost-cutting measure.

The BWF said it was concerned that hosting the badminton at a stand-alone venue would discourage new fans from watching the event.

AFP