Badminton president backs Dubai to lift the sport

Dubai: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) president Poul-Erik Hoyer has backed Dubai to help spread the sport across Asia.

Speaking at the Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals at the Hamdan Sports Complex, Hoyer said the success of the Dubai Superseries from the inaugural chapter last year had been “a good yardstick to go by”.

“It’s better and bigger this season. And with more support coming in from all quarters like the Dubai Sports Council, which has a registered 444 events conducted this year in all kinds of disciplines, and the Dubai Government’s involvement, there is ample evidence of this city playing a bigger role for the successful growth of badminton regionally and continent wise,” he said.

Danish-born Hoyer, who won the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and was elected to his current position in 2013, also believes that Dubai can provide the ideal connection between badminton powerhouse Asia and lesser developed destinations in Europe.

“If you ask me Asia will always be the world’s badminton hub given the sheer numbers playing the sport in countries like China, Japan, Thailand, Korea,” he said.

“It will always have a strong hold on the game because they have the culture, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the growth in the Pan-Am region, for example, which now hosts 36 tournaments compared to the seven it staged a few years ago.

“Geographically, and performance wise, Europe can also benefit from the sport and like with Asia, the game will be the ultimate beneficiary,” he added.

“I have been most excited about the sport’s growth in Spain, and the strides it has made. Of course all credit goes to Carolina Marin, the world champion, who has contributed immensely to that growth.”

Commenting on the BWF’s ‘Shuttle Time’ program that was launched in Dubai last year, Hoyer said: “Dubai has done an excellent job creating a base for the sport through the grassroots programme we have helped initiate.

“We have more than 3,000 school kids playing badminton of which a high percentage are Emirati youngsters. We have high quality coaches involved and obviously we hope that it will help sustain the sport’s development in the future.”

Commenting on efforts to make the game more attractive and entertaining, Hoyer said that social media was a unique platform to tap as it had to power to connect with a greater audience at a more personal level.

“We are always looking at ways to make badminton more entertaining and appealing, that’s the challenge with all sports, I would imagine,” said Hoyer. “We’ve been looking at the sports format, certain rules and hopefully we can all work towards making the badminton experience more pleasurable to all.”

The media conference was also attended by Thomas Lund, secretary general, BWF, and a former world champion himself.