BEC's Hoyer Larsen joins race for BWF top post

Badminton Europe Confederation (BEC) president Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen has declared his intention to run for the presidency of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The 1996 Olympic Men's singles champion was elected to BEC in 2010 and also serves on Denmark's National Olympic Committee. In a statement, Larsen said: "I want to lead the BWF in the same spirit as today and ensure an open dialogue with key stakeholders. I represent unity in the badminton world as I believe that we need strong cooperation to compete against other sports. "Our prime target must be to ensure badminton's status as an Olympic sport and with my profile, I believe I can contribute to badminton's Olympic aspirations". The statement said Larsen was encouraged to run by colleagues from all over the world as it was known that current BWF president Kang Young Joong would not seek re-election. The BWF annual general meeting (AGM) will take place on May 18, during the Sudirman Cup here. Besides Larsen, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh and Indonesia's Justian Suhandinata have also announced their interest to contest for the top post in the world body. Justian Suhandinata is the owner of Tangkas Badminton Club which, under his leadership, has produced players like Icuk Sugiarto, Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky. About his chances at the election, Larsen said he would not seek election if he was not convinced of his ability to lead BWF and if he had not received strong encouragement and support.