Kathmandu, February 29

Shuttle Time Nepal, an International School Badminton Programme of Badminton World Federation, was launched here at the National Sports Council today.

Minister for Youth and Sports Satya Narayan Mandal and Australian Ambassador to Nepal Glenn White jointly opened the project, which is organised in 100 countries across the world. The programme, funded by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia under the Asian Sports Partnership Programme, aims at reaching over 500 Primary School teachers and deliver a 12-week programme that will benefit over 20,000 children. The program will provide school badminton kits, teaching resources and training for 20 tutors across five development regions of Nepal.

Nepal is one of the 25 countries in Asia to get the project. The project began in 2011 from Tonga and Panama will be the 100th country when it ends this year. Australian Aid, Badminton Asia Confederation, Badminton Australia and Sports Matters, an Australian NGO, are the partners of the project. Minister Mandal urged the organisers to take the project to various parts of the country to give opportunity to the children across the nation. “Australia has been doing important help in government level and Shuttle Time Nepal was another milestone in the bilateral relationship between the two countries,” he added.

Ambassador White said he was pleased to announce the new relationship among Australian Government, Badminton Australia, World Badminton Federation and the Nepal Badminton Association. “Australia and Nepal share a love of sport which has the ability to define our identity, values and culture. In Nepal, Australia has been a partner in the areas of cricket, LGBTI Regional Sporting event, netball and Special Olympics. I look forward to seeing communities work together in positive ways through badminton and other sports in Nepal,” he added.

National Sports Council Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista said the project was very important in the field

of Nepali badminton. Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha hoped the project would bring

drastic changes in future results. “It will not only help the sports but will also promote Olympic Values among children,” said Shrestha.

Jackie Lauff, CEO of Sports Matters said she was happy to be in Nepal to celebrate the event. “We believe sports has the power to change the world and we also bring the messages of health apart from sports,” she said. “We want to give strong and positive messages to children and teachers of Nepal.” She added: “Shuttle Time Nepal aims to use the sport of badminton to promote social inclusion, peace-building and health in primary school children across Nepal and is expected to leave a lasting legacy for children, teachers, and for communities in Nepal.”

Ramesh Shrestha, President of Nepal Badminton Association, said the project was great opportunity for shuttlers in Nepal. “At a time when the country is suffering from various problems, the Shuttle Time Nepal will not only help in popularising the sport but also healing the wounds of people,” said Shrestha. “I urge the government to renovate and reconstruct infrastructure damaged by earthquake so that we can produce talented players who could be national heroes in future,” he added. “We would like to thank Australian government for providing us with such a huge project and we assure you all that we will not leave any stone unturned to make it a grand success,” Shrestha said.