Emotions ran high when Badminton Asia’s newly elected secretary-general Moosa Nashid met the technical officials of the on-going Badminton Asia Junior Championships in the Chinese city of Suzhou on Wednesday.
Taking time off from his busy schedule Moosa, from the Maldives, met umpires. linesmen, assessors at the end of the day’s play at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre.
“You are the soul of the tournament. You are the ones who run the tournament. Without you, there is no (badminton) tournament,” said Moosa during the hour-long meeting.
“It is not only the players who aim and want to be Olympians. You as technical officials can also target to be proud Olympians in a different capacity. Work towards your aim and be proud of what you achieve.
“A successful tournament is also your success. As an official in any capacity, you play a key role to ensure the success of a tournament.”
The touching words brought many to tears for the “words of encouragment and inspiring talk” from the high ranking official from Badminton Asia.
Moosa is taking a hands-on and holistic approach. He also revealed that Badminton Asia will play its role in a bid to have as many technical officials as possible from the Asian continent qualify for the next two Olympics after Tokyo 2020.
“I agree these technical officials make lot of sacrifices for the love of the sport and that is why many of them became emotional and shed tears. Frankly, it touched me. I appreciate their sacrifices and hard work and efforts for the love of the sport to ensure a tournament’s success,” added Moosa.
Moosa is pleased to note that the present batch of technical officials undergoing Badminton Asia’s accreditation course in Suzhou is young with the youngest aged only 19. Except for one who is aged 45 the rest are below 25.
“This gives them ample time to work themselves up to a higher grade. I have faith in them and I wish them luck,” said Moosa. – Badminton Asia
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