Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
The teen members of the UAE Junior badminton team notched memorable performances while representing the country over the weekend in Alicante, Spain.
A haul of five medals – two golds, two silvers and one bronze – at the Spanish International Under-19 Championship at the Pabellon Municipal Centre courts propelled the UAE to dominate the podium in three out of the five categories and finished ahead of badminton powerhouses such as Germany, Thailand, and Denmark.
In the Men's Singles, days after turning 15, Riyan Malhan overcame some nervous moments but moved from strength to strength against higher-ranked and older opponents before eventually taking the gold in a proud achievement for the Dubai-born Indian teen.
"Winning the Spanish International U19 is a dream come true," said Malhan in a message from Spain. "I'm grateful to my coaches, teammates, and the UAE Badminton Federation for believing in me. This is just the beginning – I'll keep working harder to make my country proud on the world stage."
The prodigy had also made history last year by becoming the first player from the UAE and West Asia to clinch a medal, bronze, at the Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships in Chengdu, China. His father was a state-level player in India before moving to the UAE many years back as an academician.
If this is not enough, there is more promising talent in the pipeline as was evident when his compatriot, Adam Jeslin, who is yet to turn 15, showcased equal resilience and skill to earn the silver medal behind Malhan.
In the Women's Singles, there was familiarity on the honours board where Prakriti Bharath lived up to her second-seed billing with an emphatic, undefeated run to defend her title.
"Standing on top of the podium means more than just a win; it is a reward for every early morning and every tough training session. I'm proud to represent the UAE and hope this inspires more girls back home to chase their badminton dreams," Prakriti said on her successive title from the Spanish tournament. In doing so, she overcame her teammate Mysha Omer in the finals, who fought valiantly to bring home the silver.
Adding to the medal count, the new pairing of Jeslin and Omer, 17, brought home a respectable bronze in the Mixed Doubles category, given their ages and mixed experience. Omer had won the women's doubles bronze last year with Taaiba Khan.
Combining with the raw talent of Jeslin, the experienced Omer still had to impress to stun the second-seeded German pair of Alexander Zhang and Aurelia Wulandoko though they could not prevent the latter from taking the silver. The UAE mixed pair then bowed out from the semi-final stage, losing to the eventual champions and Thailand's siblings, Tonkid Saeheng and Tonrug Saeheng.
The marked improvement in the performances is a reflection of the robust infrastructure and vision laid out by the UAE Badminton High-Performance Department, led by Michael Norbek as Performance Director. With strategic support from the UAE Ministry of Sports and development programmes such as "Road to Dakar 2026" and "Pathway to Los Angeles 2028", UAE's young shuttlers are firmly stepping onto the global stage.
"To stand atop the medal tally in a field that includes Europe's and Asia's finest is a proud moment for UAE badminton. These results reflect our belief that excellence is achievable with the right support and hard work," a statement from UAE Badminton Federation President Noura Al Jasmi said.
