Mehrabi exhorts youth to strive for excellence

Dubai: Former badminton champion Kaveh Mehrabi has exhorted aspiring sports stars to be prepared for a life of sacrifice and dedication if they are to be sporting heroes of the future.

In February this year, Mehrabi put the final touches to his Tehran-based ‘Kaveh Mehrabi Foundation’, which has a group of 40 young children (20 boys and girls) having access to sport.

“Sport has made me what I am today. I wanted to make a difference and today my foundation is meant to do exactly that,” Mehrabi told Gulf News on the sidelines of the two-day Peace and Sport Forum that concluded at the JW Marriott Marquis hotel.

Mehrabi’s career in badminton came about due to his father’s promptings, he explained. As a child he used to accompany his father – the director of the foundation – to the local park every weekend to play badminton.

“Somewhere inside me was a fierce competitive spirit,” Mehrabi recalled.

That led the youngster to move to the International Badminton Academy in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2003. Consequently, Mehrabi went on to participate at six BWF World Championships.

Later, he became the only Iranian to qualify for the 2011 BWF World Championship, which was one of the key qualification tournaments for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

“Youngsters today need to realise the dedication and sacrifices that go into becoming a world-class athlete. There are a lot of sacrifices to be made and I hope that at least some of these youngsters can be in a position that I have been,” Mehrabi said.

The Iranian star, who turns 31 next month, is the Athletes’ Commission Chairman and a Council Member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). “I am sure some of these kids we have in our foundation’s programme are talented. But the basic idea is to get them to follow their dream by giving them an access to sport,” he said.

“I am sure that if there are some among them who are talented and who will get the necessary backing to pursue a career in sport,” Mehrabi said.