Kazan to host 2014 European Badminton Championships

Moscow: Russian city Kazan is to host the 2014 European Badminton Championships.

An agreement was signed on Monday by the head of the sport`s federation in Russia and Badminton Europe. Kazan city had been lobbying to stage the event as part of the legacy program for this year`s Summer University Games. Success finally came Monday when Andrei Antropov and Danish great Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen, who was re-elected to the post of Badminton Europe chief, inked a deal. "We`ve been entrusted with the most prestigious European competition," Antropov said in comments to the federation`s website. "The city (of Kazan) was chosen after colleagues from BE inspected the facilities for the Universiade and discovered the fast pace of badminton development in the Tatarstan capital," he added. Russia successfully hosted the 2013 European Mixed Team Badminton Championships at the national headquarters in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow. IANS