By Femi Atolagbe
In a bid to discover budding talents, the Badminton World Federation (BWF), in collaboration with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), has selected Ondo State as one of the host states for its developmental programme tagged ‘Shuttle Time’.
National badminton coach and coordinator of the Shuttle Time programme in Nigeria, Sulaimon Tajudeen, disclosed that the training, hosted by the Ondo State Badminton Association and sponsored by the Chairman of the association in the state, Chief Oluadekunle Ajanaku, aims to make badminton more attractive at the grassroots level.
The ongoing three-day training at the indoor hall of the Ondo State Sports Council kicked off on Thursday and will end tomorrow, Saturday.
According to him, the programme targets primary and secondary schools as a strategic way to penetrate all corners of the state by training game masters and female teachers on the rudiments of the racket sport.
“We are training the trainers using a simplified method in a fun and entertaining way,” Tajudeen explained. “The idea is for the game masters to transfer the knowledge gained to their students, thereby introducing the game at an early stage.”
“We believe that catching them young through their game masters will help the children grow with the sport and ultimately play it to stardom in the future. Our target is to make badminton popular at the grassroots and discover many talented players through this initiative.”
Speaking with newsmen, Ondo State badminton coach and junior national coach, Tunmise Olalehin, said the purpose of the training is to develop the sport from the grassroots, with a special focus on primary and secondary schools.
He revealed that about 25 schools are participating in the three-day event, which is scheduled to end tomorrow.
Participating schools include Fiwasaye Girls’ Grammar School, Aquinas College, Akure, Oyemekun Grammar School, Akure Secondary Commercial School, CAC Grammar School, and several private schools.
Olalehin emphasised that the training will position Ondo State as a hub for badminton development. He added that it will also serve as an opportunity to scout young talents who could represent the state at the upcoming National Youth Games in Delta State.
“We are committed to developing badminton and making it more popular among schoolchildren. Materials will be distributed to all participating schools after the programme,” he said.
“After the training, we will organise a competition to discover new talents who can represent Ondo State at national and international junior competitions,” Olalehin added.
One of the participants, Femi Akinleye, a game master at Akure Secondary Commercial School, expressed his readiness to support the development of badminton in schools.
“All the experience we’ve gathered during this training will be passed on to our students. We are ready to collaborate with the Ondo State Badminton Association to discover and develop young talents,” Akinleye affirmed.
