The first ever badminton tournament in the country is set to be staged early next month, Andrew Ndayambaje, the president of local badminton federation has confirmed. Ndayambaje said this after the official launch of Nyarutarama Badminton Club yesterday.

"We are receiving more interested players so this has prompted us to organize a tournament. The event will be aimed at publicizing the sport, which is still new to many people in the country and encouraging more players to join,” he said.

He disclosed that Novotel Hotel has agreed to sponsor the event by offering courts, racquets and prizes to the best players among others.

Currently badminton is played in Ecole Belge, Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), Rwanda textile Industry (Utexrwa), Green Hills Academy and other secondary schools in Kigali.

"We are planning to form an official federation soon after the event,” Ndayambaje said.

He called upon interest players in various institutions to register for training, which takes place every evening on weekends at the ADEB courts in Nyarutarama.

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