SLB to kick off ‘Gamin Ratata Badminton’ in Ambalangoda

From left: SLSBA Secretary Saman Wijesinghe, SPBA Secretary Buddika de Silva, former national coach and Shuttle Time trainer Pradeep Welagedara, SLB Vice President Roshan Gunawardana, SLB Secretary Mohan Wijesinghe, Shuttle Time Co-ordinator Iresh de Silva and IT instructor Mohamed Gazzaly

Sri Lanka Badminton, in association with its Provincial and District Badminton Development Committee, will host the ‘Gamin Ratata Badminton’ program at the Dharmasoka College Indoor Stadium in Ambalangoda on 14 – 15 December.  

The Gamin Ratata Badminton is being conducted in Sri Lanka under the International Shuttle Time Badminton Program mooted by BWF and implemented by Badminton Asia, the governing body of the sport in the Asian Region. The idea is to take the sport to the hinterland of each country and make it a popular mass sport.

Fifty four selected schools in the Galle District will benefit through this stage of the program, which is mainly aimed at supplying the basic knowledge of the sport and providing equipment to schools to propagate and promote badminton in the provinces of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Badminton through its Provincial and District Development Committee will provide adequate training to teachers who will then pass on their knowledge to the young players in their respective schools.

As part of this initiative, each school will receive six rackets, three shuttle tubes, one net and two posts in order to set up a court within their school premises, so that budding young players can start training. All participating teachers and children will be awarded certificates at the end of the event. The SLB P&D Committee will monitor progress and organise competitions to motivate and recognise these schools.

Following the kick-off event in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka Badminton hopes to take the Gamin Ratata Badminton program to each and every district in the island and produce a whole new generation of badminton players in Sri Lanka. 

SLB President Rohan De Silva said that he greatly welcomes this initiative, that is spearheaded by a past President and current VP Roshan Gunawardena, stating, “The future of badminton is firmly embedded in the Gamin Ratata program.”