Officials and Leaders Hail Historic All-Women Umpire Panel at U-19 Nationals

Tournament officials in Gangtok opened the 49th Yonex-Sunrise Junior (U-19) National Badminton Championships with the country’s first all-women panel of chair umpires, Telangana Today reported.

Seventeen umpires from across the country were selected to officiate the national championship following assessments at the All India Ranking Tournament held in Jaipur earlier this year, according to Telangana Today.

“It’s a great honour for all of us to have participants from all over India in this beautiful and wonderful state of Sikkim,” said Shri Raju Basnet, Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs.

“With an all-female team of umpires officiating this tournament, Sikkim is at the forefront of women’s empowerment, and this is just another step forward,” Basnet told Telangana Today.

The Badminton Association of India initiated the all-women panel to encourage more women to take up officiating at the highest level, according to Telangana Today.

“This is an important step towards encouraging more women to take up officiating at the highest level,” said Shri Sanjay Mishra, Secretary General of the Badminton Association of India. “Our objective is to create a larger pool of qualified and experienced women umpires in the country and provide them with opportunities to officiate at major national events.”

Organising Secretary Sukanta Das said hosting the U-19 Nationals for the first time in Sikkim was a historic moment for the sport in the state.

“On behalf of Sikkim Badminton, we have immense gratitude to the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri Prem Singh Tamang (Golay), for his wholehearted support and for extending state-event status to the championship,” Das told Telangana Today.

The inter-state team event runs over two days before individual events begin on November 16, Telangana Today reported.

More on this story: All-Women Umpires Make History at Junior National Badminton Championships