The 20 brand new courts on the sixth floor of the Suntec Convention Centre are fully air-conditioned. (Photo: Bryan Tan)

Badminton aficionados in Singapore have a reason to rejoice once more.

20 brand new, fully air-conditioned badminton courts have taken over part of the empty exhibition halls of Suntec City's Convention and Exhibition Centre, now rendered mostly defunct thanks to the pandemic, although there are plans in the pipeline to revive meetings, conventions and exhibitions.

The venue, called Teamsport Arena, is located on the sixth floor in adjacent halls 601 and 602. The courts were quietly opened without much fanfare to the public about three weeks ago, and is currently mostly frequented by the venue operator's badminton meet-up groups and personal friends.

Both halls were leased from Suntec by Teamsport Singapore, which operates and manages the space.

The only other 20-court badminton hall in the countryat Singapore Expo made headlines when it opened in August for being the largest space for the sport in Singapore. Now, just three months later, there is a second venue at Suntec with 20 courts, and in a more central location, too.

This writer managed to book the courts at Suntec and play on them. As a regular recreational badminton player, it was a relief and a joy to be able to play badminton doubles again, which is currently allowed at five pax per court, as per recently relaxed COVID restrictions.