THE 2014 Copperbelt Open badminton championships that took centre-stage at the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) courts in Kitwe last weekend may have gone unnoticed by many enthusiasts but this tournament lifted the lid on hugely talented shuttlers.
By its measure, the Copperbelt Open is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the annual Badminton Zambia (BZ) calendar and it pits a cream of the country’s top shuttlers as well as budding stars.
Barely six months since the formation of the Nkwazi badminton club in Lusaka, the Zambia Police Service outfit pulled off a dominant performance at the Copperbelt Open tournament to sweep through the men and women singles.
The Mulenga brothers Kalombo and Chongo saved the Copperbelt region’s humiliation by winning the men’s doubles final.
It takes great courage for a newly-formed club to set its ambitions high and attempt to win silverware from the onset.
Given the fact that the Copperbelt Open pitted the best players in the country including veterans, the tightness of the games was enjoyable and the winners deserved victory.
The exploits that were heralded during the tournament came at the right time as Zambia will be hosting the Zone Six badminton championship and the Zambia international this month.
Truth be told, Nkwazi players showcased enormous talent that could without doubt be instrumental to the national team ahead of vital international tournaments.
With the likes of Siamupangila, a self accomplished female shuttler leading the charge, the badminton family in the country must watch out for Nkwazi as the club is likely to be a dominant force in the sport.
Arising from the current strides made, Zambia will not scrap anymore for the barrel in search of the badminton talent both in the male and female categories.
If Nkwazi shuttlers continue to show progress, they are expected to join the likes of other young talents such as the Mulenga brothers, Chongo and Kalombo and give Zambia a worthy fight in the future tournaments.
But first, the club has to add more depth to the team, who currently rely on players like the Siamupangila sisters of Ogar and Evelyn among a few others.
Last week’s Copperbelt championship could well have given an indication the young team could represent the future of Zambia’s badminton.
The achievement of these young shuttlers might well be put in proper perspective given the fact that the club was formed just a few months ago and the outstanding display was a confidence booster ahead of any future engagements.
Indeed team Nkwazi has players who are immensely talented and are sure to go places and there is every chance that this tournament will not be the last time the fanatics will hear of Nkwazi’s dominance.
One person who would have been shattered by the results would have been Chongo. Chongo missed out on the men’s singles after he suffered elimination from the contest, but the budding star and his younger brother Kalombo battled hard and did well in clinching the men’s doubles top prize.
On the technical point of view, the just ended tournament wasn’t just important for the players to showcase their talents, but it was acting as a good indicator for which players will be selected ahead of the two international tournaments to be staged in Zambia later this month.
The Badminton body in the country has made sure that the future of the sport is strengthened on the grassroots; the development has seen young upcoming talent represent the Zambia squad at various tournaments.
Today, Zambia can boast of holding the under-15 Africa title after Kalombo was this year crowned champion in Uganda at the feat that was his first international attempt.
Following his triumph, the young shuttlers now, have the confidence to beat even the highly rated in their age group. The whole attitude changed from their perspective as they definitely, do not have fears of taking on anyone.
The onus is therefore on individual players to keep improving and not get stagnated. With coach Juma Muwowo, who knows exactly what kind of training schedule they need to achieve their goals, a good show is expected on home soil this month.
The young stars are proving themselves as skilled players and they have shown how strong they are to show quality and compete at international level.
To win the men’s doubles, the Mulenga brothers defeated veteran players Juma Muwowo and Ngosa Chongo.
This match in my view was a clear indication that there was no much difference in the gap between top seeds and the second best players but going by the input on the court, youngster seemed to have an upper hand which was good for the future of the sport.
Even though badminton in Zambia is taken as part of recreation, the country has performed competitively with countries whose players earn their living from participating in the sport.
With considerable support towards the sport, Zambia can produce legends of legends in badminton which is now claiming a huge share of following.
To the BZ, grooming up of the players for future prospects is the right way to go in getting things right and the association should maintaining the same momentum it has started with.
There is need to inculcate a strong winning spirit and passion in the youngsters which is the most essential property for becoming the world beater.
Additionally, staging a lot of domestic tournaments at national level will help to keep the players in competitive moods before they embark of international assignments.
These domestic tournaments could also help to increase the popularity of young badminton players, who would then tend to work hard and represent the country without fear at international level.
Thumbs up to the business community that comes to the aid of these minor sports whenever called upon to help in various ways.
It is therefore important for the corporate world and other well wishers to maintain or increase their support to badminton for it to thrive.
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