SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Mar 13: Buoyed by the success of the state’s five technical officials in the India examination, the Jharkhand Badminton Association (JBA) is set to hold a virtual refresher course for attracting new persons in the field of badminton umpiring.
JBA joint secretary Sachin Rana said that first-time success of five technical officials (umpires) of the state in the national examination conducted by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), the state body has planned to associate more persons in the technical field of this game to prepare a big pool of badminton umpires.
“In this regard first round of discussion with JBA secretary K Prabhakar Rao has been held. He has given consent for the same. If all goes as per plan, the virtual refresher course would be held in April,” said Sachin Rana.
Notably, in a first, five technical officials of Jharkhand Avinash Kumar Tiwari (Ranchi), Alok Singh (Barkakana, Ramgarh), Anurag Kumar and Amit Modak (Jamshedpur) and Madhusudan Murmu (Dumka) have qualified for higher evaluation senior national grade and for National Grade-2.
JBA joint secretary said that through a refresher course, the association wants to clear the confusion among people about becoming a badminton umpire/ technical official. There is no need to be a good player for this. It is a plus point if the candidate plays badminton and has an interest in the technicalities of the game.
“Now umpiring in badminton has a bright future. Getting regular knowledge of rules regulations and exposure, one can become an umpire after clearing the examination,” he said.
Rana said that the present bunch of state’s technical officials have proved their potential at a national level. It shows that there is no dearth of talent in Jharkhand. “There is a need of changing the mindset of people in the state and association would help them in it by providing all kinds of support,” he added.