Gaming
Badminton royalty at BWF India Open 2023
Mumbai: Badminton royalty will descend on India for the BWF India Open 2023, which will begin on 18 January and be exclusively live-streamed on JioCinema as the second tournament of the BWF World Tour 2023.
In addition to the defending men’s champion Lakshya Sen, P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Prannoy Roy, and 2022 Men’s Doubles Champion pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the event will feature Men’s and Women’s World No. one Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, respectively.
The competition will take place at the K. D. Jadhav Indoor Hall in 2023, when it will be promoted to a BWF Super 750 event. The winner of the 2017 India Open, Sindhu, will compete against Thai shuttler Supanida Katethong in Round one. Other Indians competing in the women’s singles event include Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, and former champion Saina Nehwal.
While Kidambi Srikanth, the champion of the 2015 edition, will play Axelsen in the opening round of the Men’s Singles, Sen will begin his title defence against fellow countryman H.S. Prannoy.
Rankireddy and Shetty, who won the gold medal in men’s doubles at the Commonwealth Games, will defend their championship against J Bay and L Molhede of Denmark. In the women’s doubles event, M Lambert and A Tran of France will compete against G Gopichand and T Jolly, while Shikha Gautam and A Bhat will take on M Thinaah and P Tan of Malaysia.
Gaming
Nodwin Gaming partners with Runestone for esports data and integrity solutions
South Asian esports leader joins forces with Czech tech firm to enhance tournament operations.
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming has just levelled up its game by bringing in a specialist to keep the scoreboard honest and the fans fully engaged. The leading South Asian esports and gaming company has announced a strategic partnership with Runestone, a Prague-headquartered esports technology firm specialising in real-time data and engagement solutions for tournament organisers and publishers.
The collaboration aims to strengthen competitive integrity, improve operational oversight, and deliver more interactive viewing experiences across Nodwin’s properties. It will initially focus on the Nodwin Clutch Series for Counter-Strike 2, a Tier 2 tournament that provides emerging teams with consistent competitive opportunities and helps build the talent pipeline.
The latest edition of the series recently concluded with Big defeating ECSTATIC 2–1 in the grand final of the $50,000 online event.
Nodwin Gaming chief business officer at MENA and global head of data monetization Teemu Koski said, “Integrity and transparency are fundamental to sustainable esports ecosystems, especially in Tier 2 competition where the next generation of talent emerges. Runestone’s expertise complements our experience in building scalable esports IPs.”
Runestone head of partnerships Michael Schwartz added, “Nodwin Gaming has built one of the most dynamic esports ecosystems across emerging markets. We’re thrilled to collaborate on supporting tournaments with greater transparency, deeper fan interaction, and scalable tools.”
Both companies are exploring opportunities to extend the partnership across additional titles, including mobile-first competitive ecosystems, and to develop new products for publishers, tournament operators, and event promoters.
In the rapidly growing world of esports, where fair play and fan excitement are equally crucial, Nodwin Gaming and Runestone are teaming up to ensure every match is not only competitive but also transparent and engaging. This alliance could well become a game-changer for Tier 2 tournaments across South Asia and beyond.
