Young Emiratis and other talented shuttlers will be travelling to India to represent the UAE at the upcoming World Schools Championships. Held in Pune, India 19 - 24 April, the event will offer the first opportunity for young badminton players from the UAE to travel internationally to represent their nation.
Players from Dubai national School, Dubai International school- Alquz, Wadi Al helou School, Aisha Bint Othman and Indian High school have qualified to travel to India, a major hub for worldwide badminton, as members of the first team of Emirati shuttlers to represent their country in an internationally sanctioned event.
Badminton UAE's High Performance programme has, since 2016, been working to identify and develop gifted players from among the UAE's schools. Starting in schools based Local Training Centres, male and female players have been selected to work on their skills and fitness, following individually designed plans. The players have also honed their skills in the UAE Schools Olympics, an initiative of the Ministry of Education, which gave talented players the chance to develop their competitive edge through a series of qualifying events and the hotly contested finals in April.
These young players will now see their hard work rewarded with the honour of participating in this prestigious event.
Mahmoud Taifour the UAE Badminton's Coach "Qualifying events were held on 17th (girls) and 24th (boys) February and there was fierce competition to fill the five female and five male spots on the team. This is a great opportunity for the best Emirati youth players to challenge themselves on the international stage".
The World Schools Championships also includes a category for School Teams and The Indian High School, Dubai, has been selected send a team to Pune to represent the UAE in this event. A stalwart of Dubai's thriving ex pat badminton scene for many decades, the Indian High School has enjoyed consistent success at the Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships since 2015."