TEHRAN -– U.S. women’s badminton team will take part in the Fajr International Badminton Tournament held in Tehran’s Shiroudi Stadium, scheduled for February 5-8th.

A delegation of 12 Americans, including eight athletes, coaches and managers, will participate in the prestigious tournament, at the invitation of the Iranian Badminton Federation, the U.S. State Department said.
USA Badminton (USAB) looks forward to hosting the Iranian Badminton Federation for the U.S. Open in July.
This visit is part of the people-to-people exchanges with Iran. Since 2006, the U.S. Department of State has included Iranians in a range of educational, professional, and cultural exchange programs. In the past two years, over 250 Iranians, including artists, athletes, and medical professionals, have participated in exchange programs in the United States.
Through its Sports United program, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has brought the Iranian national teams for basketball, water polo, weightlifting, and members of the men’s and women’s National Table Tennis teams to the United States. The U.S. Department of State also sent 20 members of USA Wrestling to Iran to compete in the prestigious Takhti Cup in January 2007.
A total of 16 countries, namely Iran (host), the U.S., Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Iraq, Turkey, Bahrain, Slovakia, Wales, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Syria and Sri Lanka will participate in the Fajr International Badminton Tournament.
A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the tournament’s winners.
Kang Young Joong, the president of the Asian Badminton Confederation will also attend the event as a special guest