Two Pak athletes to feature in inaugural SOAP Badminton C’ship

ISLAMABAD, Nov 13 (APP):Two Pakistani athletes would represent Pakistan in the inaugural edition of the Special Olympics Asia Pacific (SOAP) Unified Badminton Championship scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 13 to 16.

“Two male athletes including Mohsin Ahmed and Samar Khan will participate in the championship while Mutahir Sohail would accompany the athletes as coach,” Regional Sports Director Federal at Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP) Shumaila Erum told APP on Wednesday.

More than 150 delegates from 14 countries would take part in the inaugural Badminton Championship. The championship would welcome athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to display their courage, passion and skills as part of a global movement to create positive change and drive social inclusion.

Thailand would welcome teams from countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.

Acting President and Managing Director of Special Olympics Asia Pacific Dipak Natali said the championship would foster deeper understanding and friendships between people with and without intellectual disabilities across the region.

The result of a global partnership between Special Olympics and the Badminton World Federation (BWF), this is the first unified badminton championship to be held in Asia since the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was announced during the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi, UAE, held in March 2019.