Most of the leading badminton players are Asians especially the Chinese, but so far Sri Lankans have failed to reach high standards due to many shortcomings, especially in the coaching department.
With this in mind Sri Lanka will see the first ever international badminton academy being inaugurated. It will be named the Rising Stars Badminton Academy that is scheduled to open on January 27. It will be situated at 30 Kalalgoda Road, Hokandara with an Indonesian coach in Tony Wahyudi to train the prospective players. This coach is no stranger to Sri Lanka and has been employed as the national coach by Sri Lanka Badminton before.
This venture is the brainchild of former Sri Lanka national player and secretary of Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) Clarence Homer with national champion Hasith Chanaka as his partner. Their aim is to uplift the standard of badminton to international heights. The academy has tied up with a top Indian Academy and is also backed by a Malaysian sponsor. They also have a plan for an exchange training program with Malaysia and India.
Training at the academy will be full time and will cater to Intermediate and beginners in accordance to regional standards. They will cover badminton training, physical training, nutrition and injury management backed by a qualified sports doctor.
The Indonesian coach will visit provinces and schools to conduct coaching camps and to update coaches with new training methods and techniques.
The academy also plans to have an Indian coach join the training of players now and then.
Interestingly, a few players from the Maldives have shown interest to be trained at this academy.
“The academy will enroll only a limited number of students and also offer scholarships to top performers,” said the managing partner Clarence Homer.