DUBAI With the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals scheduled to be held in Dubai in December, the sport is generating huge interest in the UAE, especially among the Emiratis.
The first encouraging signs came when Emirati players put on an impressive show at the Peace and Sport Cup – Women in Badminton – Dubai 2014 held in April.
Working closely with them is former Sri Lanka national badminton champion Sriyani Deepika who believes there is a massive potential among Emirati girls. The Dubai-based coach is now determined to produce world-class players and form a UAE national women’s team that can compete in international tournaments.
“Ten Emirati girls coached by me took part. For the first time in the history of UAE, Emirati women played badminton. It was very successful,” said the Dubai-based coach who ventured into coaching by setting up her own academy Badminton-Dubai two years ago.
“We have very good players and we can build a good team. We have to encourage them as they don’t know much about badminton. Little by little I can see them improving. A lot of them like the sport because it’s an indoor game. I feel in one or two years, Emirati ladies will start playing badminton seriously,” she added.
Her team is working in association with the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and WBF Dubai Representative Jaffar Ibrahim from Bahrain to promote badminton within the UAE community (locals and expatriates).
Promoting the game
“We are in talks with DSC to encourage badminton among Emirati women by training physical education teachers. If they learn, they will promote the game in schools. We are also looking at universities,” said assistant coach of Badminton-Dubai Rupa Mukherjee-Kapitzki, a former player from India who has played in India, Hong Kong and the UAE.
“There are a lot of players especially from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives. The world badminton federation is introducing shuttle time mainly for students. Basically we need to spread the word to make it a popular sport,” she added.
Deepika agreed. “Our main goal is to achieve World Badminton Federation (WBF) standards in coaching and to create a sustainable UAE badminton team for world tournaments,” she said.
Deepika represented the Sri Lanka national team for 15 years, but despite winning her last national title 10 years ago, the 46-year-old continues to play at a professional level.
“I still take part in all tournaments in the UAE. If a coach is playing it’s very easy to demonstrate the skills. I don’t want to stop playing,” said Deepika.
Her academy reaches out to universities, schools and clubs to promote badminton and offer professional coaching from the age of four with the aim of training beginners to become competitive players.
“We train all nationalities. They are very keen students. They love the game and even parents give a lot of encouragement,” she said.
The inaugural Shuttle Time Dubai Open will take place on October 10 from 2pm – 8pm at the Etisalat Academy, Dubai.
To register for the Shuttle Time Dubai Open, please email info@shuttletimedubai.ae
