Muscat to host West Asia Junior badminton in October

MUSCAT, JUNE 12

The Sultanate of Oman represented by Oman Racket Sports Committee (ORSC) will host the West Asia Junior Badminton Championship in Muscat from October 7 to 12 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. ORSC, which was established in July 2023, had organised the first international event represented by 2023 Oman Squash Open Championship in last December and registered top success.

Oman’s bid to host this major event was accepted and supported by the executive committee of the Badminton Asia. ORSC officials had prepared a comprehensive bid that covered all the requirements to host this event with ensuring that organisation of the championship will be held successfully.

“Our target from hosting of West Asia Junior Badminton Championship in Muscat is to raise Oman's ranking as a contributor to the development of badminton in the region. In the previous year, the committee successfully organised Oman's first international ranking squash tournament, which enhanced Oman's reputation in racket sports,” Abdulrahim bin Musallam al Droushi, Chairman of ORSC, said.

“By organising such high level competitions in Oman will provide the required motivation in the national team players besides potentially fostering future talents for the national training centres and school tournaments,” the chief of ORSC concluded.

It is expected that the West Asian Championship will feature participation of 10 countries including all members of the West Asia Badminton Association including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and the hosts Sultanate of Oman.

The tournament will be played based on the regulations of the Badminton Asia. The participating teams will be divided into two groups. Teams will compete within their groups while the top two from each group will advance to the knockout stages. The championship will feature singles and doubles events for boys and girls besides mixed doubles in Under-15 and Under-17 age categories.

National Team participation

The Oman team will have an intensive preparatory programme in run up to the West Asian Junior Badminton Championship.

“The national team players will attend in this championship for the first time and it will be a significant motivator for the players marking their inaugural involvement in such a major event. The players will have a busy schedule of training in different training centres have been established for both boys and girls at the Oasis Badminton Academy and AMM Badminton Centre. These centres offer training sessions led by Badminton Asia certified coaches. This summer, the committee will launch eight training centres across Muscat, Al Batinah North, Al Dakhiliyah, and Dhofar, targeting children aged 8-16. The committee has also identified the top players from the latest Oman Club Championship to form the national under-15 and under-17 teams. A training camp is planned for August in Muscat to prepare for the West Asia Championship,” Ruqaya al Omairi, Board member of ORSC, said.

Ahead to the championship, there will be a four-day officiating workshop for the umpires to update them on the latest international rules and regulations. The workshop will feature some practical sessions with mini-tournaments. Each participating country will send two referees, who will then officiate the championship matches. The workshop will be conducted by specialists from Badminton Asia and managed by the West Asia regional office.