A 30-member pool of Under-13 shuttlersfrom Kalutara District was recently formed as part of Sri Lanka Badminton’s (SLB) island-wideinitiative of forming District squads.

SLB kicked off the revolutionary programme with the aim of promoting the sport as well as preparing young shuttlersto compete at localand international events. The squad consists of 15 boys and as many girls, and the selection took place at the Crystal Badminton Courts in Panadura.

Roshan Gunawardena, Chairman of SLB’s Regional Development Committee, along with several other officials of SLB and Western Province Badminton Association (WPBA), attended the selections.

Gunawardenastated that under this program, it is planned to produce 1000U-13 shuttlers and said that the squads will be trained for a period of two years while providing all necessary facilities. He also mentioned that SLB’s main intention is to produce a talented and well-trained group of shuttlerscapable of representing Sri Lanka and winning international medals by the year 2030.

The programme that started in Galle District last March,has already spread to Hambantota and MataraDistricts together with the support of the Southern Province Badminton Association, Moneragala and BadullaDistricts with the Uva Provincial Badminton Association, and NuwaraEliya District with the Central Province Badminton Association.

Apart from this, the District squads of Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniyahave also been formed in partnership with the Northern Province Badminton Association, and Kurunegala and Anuradhapura Districts with the support of North Western Province Badminton Association and North Central Province Badminton Association respectively.

The U-13 District pooling program is sponsored by Mobil, 3M and Li Ning.