Four junior players from Australia and New Zealand are attending the International Badminton U16 SHONAI Invitational 2024. Badminton Oceania facilitated the invitation to both New Zealand and Australia through their connection with Tournament Director Junichi Kasuga. For Matthew Zhao (NZL), Yanxi Liu (NZL), Aneesh Nirmal (AUS) and Mimi Ngo (AUS) the opportunity to represent their country and region will be exciting and memorable.
Secretary General of Badminton Oceania, Julie Carrel says “this is the first time we have had teams invited to attend this tournament. It is a great opportunity for our young players and connects very well with our player development programme. Hopefully we will continue to be on the invite list for future editions.
The tournament includes girls’ and boys’ singles only is initially played in a round robin format, followed by knockout draw running from 29-30 June in Yamagata, Japan. One of the outcomes for organisers of this event is to host a “memorable and successful tournament for all participants and we look forward to welcoming talented young athletes to Shonai in June 2024.”
The chance for young badminton players from around the globe to gather in one place, to play the sport they love, for some, could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Tournament Director, Junichi Kasuga hopes the International Badminton U16 SHONAI Invitational 2024 will “strengthen international bonds and contribute to the development of badminton worldwide.”
Players and coaches will have the opportunity to participate in an organised badminton session facilitated by representative coaches and Takeshi Kamura (former Japanese Olympian), followed by an exhibition match.
The Australian team have arranged to remain in Japan following the tournament to participate in a four-day training camp before returning home.
Other countries playing are Canada, Denmark, France, South Korea, Indonesia, Scotland, Spain, Thailand, USA, and Japan.
INTERNATIONAL BADMINTON U16 SHONAI INVITATIONAL 2024
-
- MATTHEW ZHAO (NZL)
-
- YANXI LIU (NZL)
-
- MIMI NGO (AUS)
-
- ANEESH NIRMAL (AUS)
