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3 min readFeb 9, 2026 09:25 PM IST
India's only winners at the Syed Modi Super 300 in Lucknow last weekend, shuttlers Treesa Jolly-Gayatri both dread the 'Running Days' at the Hyderabad Pullela Gopichand academy. (BAI Photo)
In a denting move for Indian badminton, Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament has been demoted to Super 100 category by Badminton World Federation on Monday while India Open kept it’s 750 status despite multiple controversies in 2026 edition for the 2027-2030 cycle.
The change is part of the larger restructuring of the BWF World Tour finals structure with BWF promoting Denmark Open to Super 1000 from Super 750.
In the new six tier system of BWF World Tour, BWF World Tour Finals event remains the top event followed by five Super 1000s, five Super 750s, nine Super 500s, eight Super 300s and eight Super 100s.
It is notable that this is the first time Super 100s are part of the BWF World Tour and the rankings point earned in these events will be counted towards the qualification for BWF World Tour Finals.
A major blow for India
A regular fixture in the BWF annual calendar since 2009, Syed Modi International is named after the legendary Indian badminton Superstar. The tournament is a tribute to him and was upgraded to Super 300 in 2018.
The tournament used to attract some big names providing a chance for the Indian shuttlers to rub shoulders with the elite in the World. Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu won the title as recently as 2024.
It was held at the Babu Banarasi Das Badminton Stadium in Lucknow usually in the last week of December. While there used to be complaints of fog and chilly conditions, the tournament used to attract a decent number of shuttlers from across the world.
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Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra said that BWF has alloted Super 300 to different regions. “See last time, 32 countries had applied for the world tour tournaments. This time, 56 countries had applied. Now naturally the numbers are limited, so BWF wanted to take the game to new areas,” Mishra told PTI. “Even China has got just three events. We told BWF that we want to host the events which we have been hosting. But BWF had too many requests and they wanted more countries to host world tour events. Because smaller nations can host super 100 events as the funds and requirements are small. So since we were getting one Super 100, we thought it is better to have it in Lucknow as Syed Modi International is one of our oldest events,” he explained.
With Syed Modi remaining the only Super 100 event in the calendar, Odisha Masters will return to the status of International Masters.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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