Seven young shuttlers studying at the government schools of Kathmandu have earned themselves opportunity to assimilate with the Australian culture following their enrolment in the Shuttle Time Connect programme. 

Bijaya Maka (Bageshwori HS School), Prasiddhi Aganja (Basu HS School), Rashmi Maharjan (Jana Sewa HS School), Sujan Khadka (Ratna Rajya HS School), Shailee Shah (Kaika Sharan HS School), Ambar Bahadur Magar (Sitaram HS School) and Yunikua Niraula (Bal Bikash Secondary School) are leaving for Gold Coast, Australia on Friday under an exchange programme. 

Run by the World Badminton Federation in 108 different countries, Shuttle Time Connect is an international school badminton programme that offers young kids an opportunity to get cross cultural understanding through exchange programmes. Sports Matters and Badminton Australia have connected the schools from Kathmandu with seven Australian schools to share sports, educational and cultural experience through badminton.

Gold Coast is hosting the Sudirman Cup Badminton Championships from May 21 and the Nepali students will be joining over 500 students for badminton activities on court on the sidelines of the tournament. Apart from their engagement in the Sudirman Cup, the Nepali students will also join educational and cultural exchange with Gold Coast schools.

The seven students were picked up following their involvement in the Shuttle Time Connect programme of Kathmandu that initially enrolled students from 40 schools. Deepak Thapa, Shuttle Time Connect coordinator and Kathmandu Badminton Association President, said it was not an easy task to prepare the final list of players.

“It was really tough to pick up the final seven because we had to select those kids who play badminton and are equally good in performing cultural activities and education. Additionally, they needed to be from government schools as well. Those were the criteria set by the programme and we had to prepare them accordingly,” said Thapa adding their tour of Australia will be fruitful for the kids. 

“Its a great programme because the kids will get to learn about various culture of a country. They will also be joining classes in Gold Coast schools and coordinate with their schools in Kathmandu through skype. This is a wonderful opportunity for students who seek to learn more,” added Thapa.

The Nepali kids will be accompanied by two teachers Manoj Acharya (Ratna Rajya) and Ram Laxmi Koju (Bageshwori) along with two parents. Two officials from the Nepal Badminton Association will also leave with the team which will be led by Thapa.