Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Sep 3: The seventh edition of the Dorjee Khandu Memorial State Badminton Championship (DKMSBC) is scheduled to be held in the state capital from 6 to 11 September.
Altogether 332 participants – 80 females and 243 males – from 23 districts will be competing for the coveted trophies in the weeklong championship, which is being organised by the Arunachal State Badminton Association (ASBA) and sponsored by the sports department.
Briefing reporters at Arunachal Press Club here on Tuesday, ASBA secretary Bamang Tago said that besides the participants from the 23 districts, shuttlers from the Sangay Lhaden Sports Academy and the capital complex will also be competing in the championship.
“The winners of the championship will be selected to represent the state in regional and national competitions organized by the Badminton Association of India (BAI),” he said, and informed that there will be seven categories in the championship, ranging from U-9 to U-19.
Tago said the tournament will be refereed by retired international referee H Gyaneswor, from Manipur. “The state’s Grade-II umpires’ training will also be conducted simultaneously during the tournament,” he added.
Tago, however, said the state’s ace shuttler, Laa Talar, will be missing the tournament as he will be participating in a match which is scheduled to be held in Delhi.
On providing an international level badminton court for the state’s players, Tago informed that tender for the construction of the Dorjee Khandu Badminton Academy has already been floated and the players would very soon have all the basic requirements in terms of infrastructure, training, and such.
Tago also informed that the top-ranking badminton players from the last DKMSBC – Montilly Pul, Taku Neha, Pakli Bagra and Lobsang Choiden Sherdang – have been selected by the BAI.
“These two girls and two boys have been selected by the BAI and they will be going through 15 days of intensive training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Karnataka,” he said.
