Indian high school take four titles in Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships finals

Dubai - After some outstanding performances throughout the year it was the Indian High School who again dominated the competition.

The region's top young badminton players joined their idols on Sunday, as they competed in the Grand Finals of the Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships on the final day of competition in the Dubai World Superseries Finals at the Hamdan Sports Complex.
The excited youngsters who have been watching the world's best in action all week, had qualified for the Finals by winning their age groups at the Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships in April and October this year. More than 440 players from 30 schools participated in the Championships throughout the year.
And in a treat for the young players, they were presented with their trophies by two players contesting the Dubai World Superseries Finals, - Japanese Women's Doubles player Kurumi Yonao and Mixed Doubles player Ayane Kurihara.
After some outstanding performances throughout the year it was the Indian High School who again dominated the competition winning four of the six age categories, taking out the Boys' Under 12, the Girls' Under 14 and the Boys' and Girls' Under 16 categories.
In the Boys' Under 12 category Indian High School defeated Our Own High School Al Warqa'a, 2-1, while in the Girls' Under 14, young badminton star Tanisha Crasto was too strong for GEMS Our Own Indian School, helping her team to a 3-0 win.
In the Under 16 categories, the Indian High School girls defeated GEMS Our Own English High School 2-1, with the boys taking a 3-0 win over GEMS Our Own Indian School.
The Girls' Under 12 category was a fierce contest, with all three matches going to three games before GEMS Our Own English High School ran out winners over Dubai Gem.
And in the only category contested by the Indian High School which they were not able to win, Our Own High School Al Warqa'a took a tight 2-1 victory in the Boys' Under 14 category after a close doubles match.
Jaffer Ebrahim; Dubai Badminton Development Manager, said "The Schools Championships this year have been a great success. With competitions throughout the year we are seeing a remarkable improvement in the standard of play and in the commitment to developing badminton in the schools.
For these children to play at this venue while their heroes are in action is a wonderful experience, and for them to meet two of the players who qualified for the Dubai World Superseries Finals is the icing on the cake."
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.

• UAE
• Dubai