Over 150 badminton enthusiasts from across the UAE gathered in Dubai on Friday for the first Shuttle Time Dubai Open at the Etisalat Academy.

The Shuttle Time Dubai Open was the first in a series of tournaments aimed at increasing participation in badminton in the UAE. The grassroots project is linked to this December’s BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals, and organisers were delighted with the turnout.

Shuttle Time Dubai Coordinator Jaffer Ebrahim, said: “The numbers gathered here reflect the high level of interest there is for badminton in Dubai and across the UAE. 

"Today we had over one hundred players ranging in age from 7 to 50 years old playing in the tournament. In addition we also had over 30 children receive an introduction to badminton on the Shuttle Time court, which is great. We hope for even bigger crowds for the next Shuttle Time Open.”

The participants ranged from novices to experienced players, but all enjoyed the tournament.

Amritha Kuttikrishnan from Abu Dhabi who won the women’s doubles with partner Deepika Sriyani, said: “I play five times a week at the Indian Social and Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi and it’s great to see so many new people and new faces getting involved in badminton.”

This week’s event was open to male and female doubles pairs in the adult and U17 categories. 

The winning doubles pairs in each category as well as the Best Sportsmanship award winner earned a coveted spot in a star player clinic during the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals, at the Hamdan Sports Complex in December.

The Best Sportsmanship Award winners were Dana Khafaji and James Varghese, both of whom will join the winners at the skills clinic.

“I am really happy we have so many people here today and I can see people are really enjoying it," said Abdulla Shahdad, Manager of School Sports at the Dubai Sports Council, and member of the Organising Committee. 

"It’s a great way to get new people involved in badminton, our next step is to establish the Shuttle Time PE program in schools, and we are hoping to have a schools tournament in November.”

The Shuttle Time Dubai Open tournaments are part of Dubai’s four-year, multi-platform partnership with the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the pinnacle of which will be the staging of the annual BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals, which will be held in the city each December until 2017. 

The next Shuttle Time Dubai event will be held on 21 October.