As many as 269 badminton players from 14 countries and territories will compete at the Ciputra Hanoi Vietnam Challenge 2013 which is slated to begin on March 26 in Hanoi.

The organising board said among 211 foreign players there are several in the world top 100 such as Li Lian Yang (77th), Wei Nan (85th), Poodchalat Pisit (91st), Wei Sheng Loh (98th) and Chetan Anand (99th).

The tournament, which is jointly held by the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is a graded event of the Badminton World Federation and the Badminton Asia Confederation.

The event offers prizes worth a total 15,000 USD in five events namely men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Held annually since 2009, the Ciputra Hanoi Vietnam Challenge 2013 is sponsored by Ciputra Hanoi Group.-VNA