MINGORA: A wave of happiness surged among badminton lovers and civil society members after a Swat badminton player was selected in the Pakistan junior badminton team for the upcoming Asian Junior Badminton Championship in Indonesia.

Abdul Basit, 17, who hails from the valley, showed brilliant performance in trials, which were held in Islamabad on Thursday, and was selected in the four-member Pakistani team.

The championship will start on July 22 this year.

Pakistan team includes Abdul Basit, Shoaib Riaz, Daniyal Ali and Raja Zulqarnain.

Basit on his selection told Dawn that he was excited to be part of the Pakistan team.

“It was my dream to represent the country in international events and I will try my best to show good results,” he said.

He thanked the KP and Swat badminton associations for their constant support and guidance.

Pakistan Badminton Federation vice president and KP Badminton Association president Zafar Ali Khan while expressing his joy said there was no dearth of talent in Swat.

“We are working to discover and groom young talent. I hope this Pakistan team exhibit good game in Indonesia,” he said.

Swat Badminton Association president Yahya Khan Dawlat Khel congratulated badminton followers in Swat.

“We have started proper training programmes for young talent and we are hopeful that soon many players from Swat will play on national and international level,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2017