By Vitus Michael

The Kwara State Governor, His Excellency, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq has applauded the Badminton Federation of Nigeria, BFN and the Community Sport Educational Development (CSED) Initiative for the bold steps to develop the game of badminton in the state.

The Governor made the commendation on Wednesday at the end of a two-day Shuttle Time Train the Trainer Badminton project, organised by the BFN in partnership with CSED Initiative, held at the Indoor Sports Hall of Kwara State Stadium Complex, Ilorin.

A total of 102 students, 28 teachers drawn from 28 secondary schools in the state took part in the training.

The Programme supported by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) initiative is aimed to take the game of Badminton to the grassroots in order to discover and develop hidden talents which abound in schools, attracted enthusiastic students, teachers and personalities.

Governor AbdulRasaq who noted that government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of Sports called on corporate bodies, organizations and individuals to join hands with the government to take sports to greater heights.

Addressing the participants, the Governor who was represented by the Executive Chairman, Kwara State Sports Commission, Bola Mogaji, commended the students for their conduct, advising them not to derail from their focus.

He reiterated the determination of the State government to always support sports inview of its potential to improve the economy of the athletes, the State and the Nation.

Governor AbdulRasaq urged the games masters and mistresses to be good ambassadors of the State and implement the training to the students.

The representative of the Governor later announced the personal donation of two hundred thousand naira (₦200, 000) to stage State Secondary Schools Badminton Championship urging the State Badminton Association to work out the modalities for a hitch free tournament.

The Chairman, Kwara State Badminton Association, Engineer Suleiman Warah, advised the participants to embrace badminton, describing it as a lovely game the students can make career out of it while pursuing their academic programme.

Engineer Warah stated that the Association would not relent in contributing its quota to the development of Badminton.

Technical Director, BFN, Coach Tunde Kazeem charged the participants to spread the message to the grassroots which is the essence of the training.

Coach Kazeem disclosed the intention of the Body to organise Badminton championship among Secondary Schools in the State.

National Coordinator Shuttle Time Nigeria, Coach Tajudeen Suleiman, said 28 teachers, and 102 students from 28 schools attended the two-day programme that featured tips on how to raise beginners in Badminton using Shuttle Time resources.

Chairman, Association of School Sports Officers, Suleiman Yusuf Ademola, appreciated the World Badminton Federation, BFN and their partners for the opportunity promising to go the extra mile to ensure the development of Badminton at the grassroots.

At the end of the two days course, certificates were awarded to the participants by BWF and
one hundred(100) rackets, 25 tubes of shuttle corks and 25 nets were given to the participating schools to ensure the take-off of the game of Badminton in the schools.

The Shuttle time train moves to Kaduna State precisely Zaria City on the 18th and 19th of this month.8