Local air badminton programme serves off at the National Park

The Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) on Tuesday (December 29) launched ‘Air Badminton’ – The new outdoor game – at the National Park in Georgetown.
“We are very happy to have gotten this project off, especially during this pandemic situation, which caused our Sport to be on hold since April 2020,” GBA President Gokarn Ramdhani said about the Association’s accomplishment.
Sharing more about the new initiative, Ramdhani stated in a missive, “This New Outdoor game was implemented by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and it’s a great way to keep the players active and motivated until we can restart our Normal Training.

“We congratulate the players who participated, and their commitment shows just how much they missed playing and (are) eager to come out to hit the specially designed shuttlecock, which can withstand the wind to a point.
“The GBA would like to give special thanks to Colonel Nazrul Hussain (of the) COVID-19 Task Force, Mr. Marvis Hoppie (of the) National Parks Commission, Mr Carlton Joao (of) Banks DIH, and the GBA Executives. We wish all the athletes, coaches, administrators and the media a Happy New Year 2021,” The GBA Boss continued by saying.

Air badminton – the new outdoor game – is here!
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) and HSBC jointly launched a new outdoor game, air badminton, and a new outdoor shuttlecock, the Air Shuttle, at a global launch ceremony outside the Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China.
Air badminton is an ambitious new development project in partnership with HSBC, BWF’s global development partner, and is designed to create opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to play badminton on hard, grass and sand surfaces in parks, gardens, streets, playgrounds and beaches around the world.
The project has been 5 years in the making, starting with a vision to develop a new outdoor shuttlecock with increased durability, stability, and wind resistance, to allow people to have a more positive experience of badminton outdoors.
BWF President and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games men’s singles gold medalist Poul-Erik Høyer officiated at the launch, and said air badminton provides a pathway for increased global participation in the sport, while opening up doors for a new, highly attractive form of competitive badminton.
“This is a momentous occasion for badminton. Strategically, air badminton will allow to fulfil our overall objective of putting a badminton racket in the hands of as many people as possible,” he said.
“Given that most people’s first experience with badminton comes in an indoor environment, we are now making it easier for everyone to access the sport through a new outdoor game and new shuttlecock, the Air Shuttle.
“In the future, we see air badminton as an exciting, new, energetic version of the sport. Overall, the aim is to inspire more people to play more badminton in more places.”