Sports: JBA Opens Training Camp on April 16-27

Jaguar Badminton Academy will open its summer training camp to develop potential players from the grassroots on April 16-17 at the Pohang Badminton Center.

Among those joining the summer training are players from Iloilo City’s Sportsville Badminton Center and from the provinces Aklan and Capiz as well as Negros-based shuttlers, according to JBA head coach Jordan Sun.

"But as what the organizer agreed earlier, this time we will only accept 40-45 trainees for us to be able to give more time to our regular members," Sun said.

"Hopefully by the next two years we will be able to identify provinces that need more grassroots program," he added.

Meanwhile, Sun explained that the training ends April 27 as the JBA-Cadiz players will be bound to Pangasinan Palarong Pambansa on April 29.

On the other hand, Sun said that he is still waiting for his appointment from the Philippine Badminton Association so that he may able to perform his new task.

Earlier, Negros Occidental third district Representative Albee Benitez, who is also the PBA’s secretary general, said that they will be hiring 10 to 15 regional coaches, in which Sun will most-likely to lead the program implementation in Negros.

Further, the solon said they will also be taking in a foreign coach to train the national and junior teams. "The coach will be here in the next two months," he said.

Despite being considered as one of the least priority sports by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), this national sports association through its chairman Manny Pangilinan able to raised most of the funds required by badminton. "Now we have a program that has a budget of about P30 million. It’s something that has never been heard of in the history of badminton," Benitez said.

"Basically, the PSC concentrated in helping the gold-bearing sports and badminton was taken out of that list because it has not produced any medal for the country," said the lawmaker.*