Western division schools are emerging as strong contenders in Fiji badminton following impressive performances at this year’s national secondary school’s competition.
Badminton Fiji Vice president for western schools Christopher Li shares the advancement made by a number of schools are the outcome of months of planning, commitment, and a growing interest in the sport among young athletes. Chris has been working closely with schools including Swami Vivekananda College (SVC), Natabua High School, Agape Central College, Nadi Muslim College and Sangam SKM college.
Through regular coaching sessions and development programmes, he has been helping students improve their technical skills, fitness levels and understanding of the game.
Among the standout performers this year was SVC, with the girls’ team finishing as runners up and the boys team securing a third-place finish.
The results represent a major improvement from last year’s competition, where the boys finished sixth and the girls placed fourth.
“I am very, very proud of how they have improved,” Chris said.
Despite the encouraging results, he acknowledged there is still work to be done if Western schools are to consistently compete with the country’s top badminton programmes.
“Yes, there is still a lot to learn and yes, there’s a very big skill gap. However, we will use whatever resources that we have to train every upcoming player,” he said.
Chris believes the performances this year have laid a solid foundation for future success and is confident that Western schools will return next year bringing tougher competition.
In an interview with SVC student Mingli Lu she shared that despite the tough competition the team continues to work harder to improve and come out stronger in future competitions.
“The competition with the Suva schools were tough but we are happy of our results, and we are going to train harder and be better for next year’s competition,” Lu said.
Looking ahead, Chris hopes to continue developing badminton throughout the western division and the revive the strong sporting reputation that schools such as Natabua once enjoyed. He believes the region has talent and commitment needed to challenge the traditional badminton powerhouse from Suva and establish itself as a force in future competitions.
