Badminton: Upgrade to Grand Prix Gold status sees world's elite holding court in Auckland

Adriyanti Firdasari of Indonesia has been ranked as high as number 15. Photo / Getty Images

Badminton officials are confident of fielding the highest calibre event seen in this country when the New Zealand Open starts on the North Shore this month.

The Open is expected to feature 24 players ranked inside the world's top 50, with eight having recently been inside the top 10, including Olympic medallists and Commonwealth champions.

The final date for the field to be finalised is on Tuesday and more specific details are due to be released next week.

But there is expected to be heavy representation from badminton powerhouses China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Chinese contingent is expected to include four world junior champions, with a solid contingent from Korea, Singapore and Thailand in the 252 entries for the open.

The top-ranked singles players on the entry list are Indonesians Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka, who was world No17 last year, and Adriyanti Firdasari, who has been as high at No15. Fellow Indonesians Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili are the world's eighth-ranked mixed doubles combination.

Much of the extra interest comes from an upgrade in status for the Sky City-sponsored event.

It is now at Grand Prix Gold status, which means a prize purse of US$120,000, making it the richest badminton event to be played in New Zealand, and attracting a potential audience of more than 220 million in over 50 countries.

"This is our chance to be in the shop window for the sport here in New Zealand, but also for New Zealand as a country, into some huge markets around the world and, in particular, throughout Asia," said Badminton New Zealand chief executive Joe Hitchcock.

"There are few sports that can match the appeal of badminton throughout Asia. We believe the sport offers a tremendous opportunity to partner with trade, tourism and business to further foster and develop new relationships into those regions."

A three-year deal has been signed with the Badminton World Federation and there is a determination to make the most of the increased status for the open.

"We are in this for the long haul, this is just the high profile aspect of what we are looking to achieve in the sport," Hitchcock said.

"We need to and want to engage with grass roots New Zealand and our associations and create a pathway for young players to aspire to."

The Open starts at North Shore Events Centre on April 28.