DUBAI: After the highly successful preliminary rounds of the Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships, the top six boys and girls teams and the finalists in the Emirati Challenge put their skills to the test in the finals of the Schools Championships at the Salah Addin Sports Hall last week.
The young players had won their way through to the Schools Championships Finals after strong performances in the Girls’ and Boys’ Championships held earlier this month. They were joined in the finals by the top ranked players in the Emirati Badminton Challenge, which was run alongside the Schools Championships. More than 455 players from 28 schools participated across the three rounds of the Championships, a 50% increase on the number of competitors in 2015.
Just as in the preliminary rounds, the finals demonstrated the remarkable improvements that the young shuttlers have achieved over the past year, and the positive impact the Shuttle Time Dubai programme has had on participation numbers and the standard of play across the emirate.
The Indian High School again dominated the competition, winning four of the six categories and finishing runner up in the other two.
Their first victory came in the Boys Under 12 category, defeating Our Own High School Al Warqa’a, 2-0. Our Own High School Al Warqua’a turned the tables in the Boys Under 14 category though, defeating The Indian High School 2-1.
The Indian High School’s second category win came in the Boys Under 16 division where they recorded a 2-0 over Gems Our Own Indian School.
In the girls divisions, The Indian High School triumphed in the Under 14 Category with a 3-0 win over GEMS Our Own English High School, while also posting a 3-0 win over GEMS Our Own Indian School in the Under 16 division.
In the girls Under 12 category, Dubai Gems Private School broke the Indian High School’s run, winning 2-1.
In the Emirati challenge girls’ divisions, the Al Ebdaa Model School and the Dubai International School Al Quoz shared the honours. The Dubai International School’s Shaikha Ahmad took out the girls Under 12 division over schoolmate Athari Ali. In the Under 14 division Al Ebdaa Model School’s Hend Al Moazan defeated Shaikha Saeed of Dubai International School.
Al Ebdaa Model School also won the Girl’s Under 16 division with Hind Almehairi defeating Rouda Saeed of Dubai International School.
In the boy’s divisions the honours were shared, with Mohammed Naqi of Al- Ahmadiya School defeating Juma Ahmed Juma of Al Qiyam School in the Under 12 division, and Mahammed Ali of Dubai National School winning the Under 14 division over school mate Abdullah Zubair. Finally, Ahmad Ibrahim of Dubai International School Al Quoz was victorious in the Under 16 division, defeating Zayed Al Shamsi of Dubai National School.
The winners were presented with their trophies by Ghazi Al Madani of Dubai Sports Council, and a board member of the UAE Badminton and Table Tennis Federation, and Dr Haya Ebrahim, Head of Students Activities Department, Dubai Educational Zone.
Dubai Badminton Development Manager Jaffer Ebrahim said, “It is very encouraging to see the improvements in the standard of play since the introduction of the Shuttle Time Dubai programme, and the increase in the number of participants in both local and international schools. These Championships have demonstrated that badminton is becoming one of the most popular sports in Dubai.”
The competition was organized in conjunction with the Dubai Sports Council, and is part of the ongoing Shuttle Time Dubai grassroots development program which is aimed at increasing participation in badminton. Shuttle Time Dubai is part of Dubai’s four-year, multi-platform partnership with the Badminton World Federation (BWF), facilitated by Falcon and Associates, the pinnacle of which is the staging of the annual Dubai World Superseries Finals, which will be held in the city each year until 2017.
The young players had won their way through to the Schools Championships Finals after strong performances in the Girls’ and Boys’ Championships held earlier this month. They were joined in the finals by the top ranked players in the Emirati Badminton Challenge, which was run alongside the Schools Championships. More than 455 players from 28 schools participated across the three rounds of the Championships, a 50% increase on the number of competitors in 2015.
Just as in the preliminary rounds, the finals demonstrated the remarkable improvements that the young shuttlers have achieved over the past year, and the positive impact the Shuttle Time Dubai programme has had on participation numbers and the standard of play across the emirate.
The Indian High School again dominated the competition, winning four of the six categories and finishing runner up in the other two.
Their first victory came in the Boys Under 12 category, defeating Our Own High School Al Warqa’a, 2-0. Our Own High School Al Warqua’a turned the tables in the Boys Under 14 category though, defeating The Indian High School 2-1.
The Indian High School’s second category win came in the Boys Under 16 division where they recorded a 2-0 over Gems Our Own Indian School.
In the girls divisions, The Indian High School triumphed in the Under 14 Category with a 3-0 win over GEMS Our Own English High School, while also posting a 3-0 win over GEMS Our Own Indian School in the Under 16 division.
In the girls Under 12 category, Dubai Gems Private School broke the Indian High School’s run, winning 2-1.
In the Emirati challenge girls’ divisions, the Al Ebdaa Model School and the Dubai International School Al Quoz shared the honours. The Dubai International School’s Shaikha Ahmad took out the girls Under 12 division over schoolmate Athari Ali. In the Under 14 division Al Ebdaa Model School’s Hend Al Moazan defeated Shaikha Saeed of Dubai International School.
Al Ebdaa Model School also won the Girl’s Under 16 division with Hind Almehairi defeating Rouda Saeed of Dubai International School.
In the boy’s divisions the honours were shared, with Mohammed Naqi of Al- Ahmadiya School defeating Juma Ahmed Juma of Al Qiyam School in the Under 12 division, and Mahammed Ali of Dubai National School winning the Under 14 division over school mate Abdullah Zubair. Finally, Ahmad Ibrahim of Dubai International School Al Quoz was victorious in the Under 16 division, defeating Zayed Al Shamsi of Dubai National School.
The winners were presented with their trophies by Ghazi Al Madani of Dubai Sports Council, and a board member of the UAE Badminton and Table Tennis Federation, and Dr Haya Ebrahim, Head of Students Activities Department, Dubai Educational Zone.
Dubai Badminton Development Manager Jaffer Ebrahim said, “It is very encouraging to see the improvements in the standard of play since the introduction of the Shuttle Time Dubai programme, and the increase in the number of participants in both local and international schools. These Championships have demonstrated that badminton is becoming one of the most popular sports in Dubai.”
The competition was organized in conjunction with the Dubai Sports Council, and is part of the ongoing Shuttle Time Dubai grassroots development program which is aimed at increasing participation in badminton. Shuttle Time Dubai is part of Dubai’s four-year, multi-platform partnership with the Badminton World Federation (BWF), facilitated by Falcon and Associates, the pinnacle of which is the staging of the annual Dubai World Superseries Finals, which will be held in the city each year until 2017.
