Para Badminton Development Initiatives Across Regions

May 7, 2021

Dedicated towards making Para badminton an integral part of badminton’s overall growth, BWF continues to undertake exercises to reflect its commitment to the sport.

Following are milestones recorded so far in 2021:

BWF Female Participation Grant 2021

Since 2017, scholarships have been provided to over 70 female athletes from more than 20 countries under the programme.

The Female Participation Grant 2021 closed on 26 March with 42 applications from 22 countries and a total of 29 scholarships were awarded to new Para badminton athletes from 20 countries across four continents.

These athletes will look forward to their first international tournament at one of BWF Para Badminton International Tournaments in either Spain, Peru, Uganda or Bahrain alongside the recipients of the 2020 grants.

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New Nations Arrive on International Scene

At the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum 3rd Dubai Para Badminton International 2021 (30 March–04 April), Nepal, Kuwait and Maldives made their international Para badminton competition debut.

“For the last month, I was so excited about coming here and playing my first international championships. I’m proud to represent Nepal,” said 18-year-old Prakash Adhikari, who now holds the distinction of being the first Para badminton shuttler from his nation to compete internationally. (link)

Adhikari, who competed in Standing Lower (SL4 men’s singles and SL3-SL4 men’s doubles), was joined by Kuwaitis Rashed Al Qallaf (SU5) and Ali Fathallah (WH1) and Maldivians Ahmed Fayaz (SL4) and Abdul Latheef Mohamed (SL3)in making international bows.

Nepal previously participated in the AGITOS Para Badminton Technical Workshop in Bangalore, India in December 2018 as did Kuwait in February 2019 in the UAE.

BWF Wheelchair Donation

Through the project, ten countries received sport wheelchairs as part of initiatives to develop Para badminton.

UAE, Fiji and Papua New Guinea received two wheelchairs each while Yemen, India, Kuwait, Syria, Mexico, Guatemala and Peru one each. Players from Yemen, UAE, India and Kuwait used their new equipment at the Dubai tournament.

Mexico and Peru previously participated in the BWF Para Badminton Legacy Project 2017 in Peru. India had participated in the AGITOS Para Badminton Technical Workshop in Bangalore in December 2018 as did Yemen, UAE, Kuwait and Syria in February 2019 in the UAE.

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Bahrain Gears Up for Asian Youth Para Games

Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation launched its national Para badminton development programme on 6 April at Enma Mall in conjunction with the International Day of Sports for Development and Peace.

Its president Dr. Sawasn Taqawi said the programme is to prepare players for the 2021 Asian Youth Para Games, which Bahrain will host in November.

Ali Almajed, Secretary-General of the Bahrain Paralympic Committee, expressed his gratitude to the federation and the Bahrain International Mobility centre for organising such positive initiatives that contribute to raising awareness in the society, particularly of Para Badminton and Paralympic sports.

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