Dubai: After the highly successful Shuttle Time Dubai Boys’ Schools Championships which was held on April 16, it was the girls’ turn to show their skills at the Salah Addin Sports Hall on Saturday.
And just as with the Boys’ championships, the girls’ event showed the positive impact the Shuttle Time Dubai programme has had over the past year, with a substantial increase in the number of children participating and in the quality of the play.
In an exciting day which saw over 220 players from 19 schools compete in the girls U12, U14 and U16 categories, and the Emirati Challenge, the finalists who will now go on to compete in the Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships on Wednesday 27 April were decided. The girls’ teams will be joined by the six teams who qualified at the Boys’ Championships and Boys’ Emirati Challenge held on 16 April.
The competition in the age group competition was fierce with 168 players from 14 schools contesting over 100 matches, while 91 girls from 10 schools participated in the Emirati Challenge. Thirty nine girls competed in both events.
The Indian High School students performed extremely well reaching all three category finals, after defeating The Philippine School Dubai 3-0 in the under-12 semi-finals, Dubai Gem Private School 3-0 in the under-14 division, and The Philippine School 2-1 in the under-16 division.
Gems Our Own English High School also played well, reaching the finals of the U14 division by defeating the Millennium School 3-0, and again defeating the Millennium School 2-1 in the under-16 division.
Dubai Gems Private School made it through to the finals in the Under 12 division by defeating Gems Our Own English High School 2-1, setting up an exciting contest against the Indian High School on Wednesday.
The Emirati Challenge was a great success, with a 245 per cent increase in participation numbers over last year. Students from Al Ebdaa Model School performed well with Hind Al Mehairi winning the under 16 division ahead of Rouda Saeed of Dubai International School Al Quoz. Hend Al Moazan, also of Al Ebdaa Model School won the Under 14 category, defeating Shaikha Saeed, again of Dubai International School Al Quoz. But it was Dubai International School’s turn to shine in the under-12 division, with Shaikha Ahmad defeating her school mate Athari Ali.
Dubai Badminton Development Manager Jaffer Ebrahim said: “We are extremely pleased with the level of interest and the standard of play we have seen at the Girls and the Boys’ Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships. The Shuttle Time Dubai programme is making a significant difference, and we are looking forward to some exciting matches on Wednesday at the Schools Championships Final.”
The competition was organised in conjunction with the Dubai Sports Council, and is part of the ongoing Shuttle Time Dubai grassroots development program which is aimed at increasing participation in badminton. Shuttle Time Dubai is part of Dubai’s four-year, multi-platform partnership with the Badminton World Federation (BWF), facilitated by Falcon and Associates, the pinnacle of which is the staging of the annual Dubai World Superseries Finals, which will be held in the city each year until 2017.
