Ashoka to sponsor Scottish National Championships

Badminton Scotland has landed an exciting new sponsor for this season’s Scottish National Championships.

Sanjay Majhu, owner of Ashoka Restaurants and the chain of Apple pharmacies, is providing more than £5,000 in sponsorship – with every penny going to the players’ prize fund.

The tournament – taking place at Scotstoun in late January – will be known as the Ashoka Scottish National Championships and Sanjay said: “I am delighted and proud to be sponsoring this tournament.

“It’s my goal to turn the Ashoka Scottish National Championships into a top-class tournament which attracts all of Scotland’s top players.

“I want it to be a showcase event for Scottish badminton which attracts big crowds who can experience top-class badminton live and close-up.”

The sponsorship will see the winners of the gents’ and ladies’ singles each take home £1000, while the winning pairs in the gents’, ladies’ and mixed doubles events will each share £500.

There will be runners-up prize money in all events, plus semi-final prize money in the two singles events.

Sanjay added: “I’ve played badminton all my life and absolutely love the sport. This is my opportunity to give something back to the sport and help our players.

“Unfortunately, badminton does not support a prize money structure similar to sports like tennis and golf, and even our best players can find it financially challenging to sustain a full-time professional career.

“Hopefully this sponsorship will go some way to helping them achieve their goals and dreams.”