MANILA – Local badminton gets a big boost with the recent launching of the  Philippine Badminton Ranking System (PBaRS), a four-leg nationwide circuit put up to determine the real mettle of the players and rank them according to their strength.

Vice President and incoming Philippine Badminton Association president Jejomar Binay attended the inaugurals of the event held at the Atrium of Robinsons Place Ermita along with Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez, former First Lady and outgoing PBA president Amelita "Ming" Ramos and Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco Jr.

"We appreciate all the badminton tournaments in the country for the good of the sport," said the Vice President, a noted badminton enthusiast.

PLDT chair Manny V. Pangilinan, whose GOAL Pilipinas! has included badminton as one of the program’s recipients, was out of the country.

Others who graced the launch where former Olympians Kennie and Kennevic Asuncion and tournament director Nelson Asuncion.

The tournament, sponsored by MVP Sports Foundation-Goal Pilipinas! and Yonex-Sunrise, kicks off on March 27 at PowerSmash in Makati with a total prize fund of P1 million at stake, including P700,000 in the centerpiece Open division.

The other categories are the Under-15 and Under-19 featuring the men’s and ladies' singles and doubles and the mixed doubles events.

Meanwhile, Bacolod will host the second leg on May 29 to June 4 while Davao will stage the third leg on July 31 to August 6. This will give players in the provinces the chance to play in top-level competitions.

The circuit, aimed at further raising the level of play in the country, will culminate in the VP Grand Prix Badminton Open Championships on October 22 to 29 in Manila.*PNA

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