The National Badminton Day held at the PGE Narodowy stadium in Warsaw on September 10 was a huge success, with 13,000 people visiting the venue and about 2,300 players taking part in it.
In a carnival-like atmosphere, as many as 51 courts were laid beside one another for the spirited shuttlers. It is the first time such a large number of Polish people were seen participating in a sports event. This was also a very good sign for a game like badminton to receive such active support which otherwise is undermined by the popularity of ‘football’ around the world.
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As per the reports of BadmintonEurope.com, the event began at 10 am in the morning and was marked with the start of the amateur and senior tournaments, followed by the kids’ meet which got under half-an-hour later. To add more flavour, there was a media coverage in the central court where recognised television personalities Sylwia Dekiert and Rafa Patyra hosted the event.
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Meanwhile, Olympian Adrian Dzióko and Polish para-badminton player Bartlomiej Mróz was also part of the auspicious occasion.
It is not just Badminton players who attended the event, sports personalities and Olympians form other fields also took part in it. Aleksandra Socha (modern pentathlon), Arthur Siodmiak (handball), Piotr Malachowski (discus) and Robert Korzeniowski (race walking) were also present at the Narodowy stadium.
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Apart from the games, the crowd was also kept entertained by visual fireworks arranged by the organisers, while Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov performed their ‘Haka Dance’ with 10-metre air flames surrounding them. The Russian’s won in the exhibition match against Przemysaw Wacha and Adam Cwalina.
The Polish Badminton Association President Marek Krajewski was very happy with the way things had turned and said, “Outstanding success of the Saturday event makes us think about next edition of the National Badminton Day”. He also informed that they have already prepared many more surprises for its people in the future and feels that the ‘National Badminton Day’ promotes the sport and enhances people to take up Badminton seriously.”
