Gymnasiade: Driving Engagement With Young Participants

April 18, 2025

Over 100 young players from 20 teams competed at the ISF U15 Gymnasiade 2025 in Zlatibor, Serbia from 3 to 12 April, providing a platform for BWF to reach out with a range of initiatives.

Besides competing in individual and team relay competitions (in able-bodied and Para badminton categories), the players attended BWF’s Dual Career programme and Info Booth sessions, familiarising them with various aspects of the sport. The Dual Career programme enables athletes to plan their career through further studies or developing skills while they train and compete.

Apart from reaching out to the athletes, the Gymnasiade provided an opportunity for BWF to engage with coaches and technical officials. A Para badminton National Classifier Workshop was held on 4 April before the start of competition and attracted five local participants.

There was also a five-day BWF Coach Education Level 1 course which was attended by 10 local coaches and a friendly team event for girls from three teams (Cyprus, Malta and Iran) to help the athletes gain exposure and confidence.

With hundreds of participants across all sports at the ISF Gymnasiade, BWF capitalised on the opportunity to popularise AirBadminton. An AirBadminton court was set up in the Fun & Skills Zone of the festival area and ran for five days, enabling competitors of other sports and the public to try out this new sport.

Highlights:

  • Badminton was among the few sports to conduct a Para event, which ran concurrently with the able-bodied competition.
  • First time that Para badminton mixed team relay (medal event) was conducted.
  • On 9 April, BWF presented in the panel for the ISF International Conference on the topic ‘Beyond The Events: How School Sports Shape Future Leaders’
  • A wheelchair was donated to the Serbian Badminton Association by BWF for promoting Para badminton in the country.

China’s Rich Haul

China dominated the individual open events, winning four gold medals, thanks to a double by three of their players. Top seed Zhang Suitao of China won the boys’ singles, while Chinese Taipei’s Ai Tien-Hsin won the girls’ singles. Liang Haolong/Zhuang Suitao (boys’ doubles), He Jing/Lu Yuhan (girls’ doubles) and Liang Haolong/He Jing (mixed doubles) were the other winners.

Azerbaijan claimed all three titles in the Para badminton combined events. Ali Maharramov (SL3-SU5 boys’ singles), Zahra Salmanli (SH6 singles) and Ayan Aliyeva (Sl4-SU5 girls’ singles) emerged champions.

Sixteen teams participated in the mixed team relay for the able-bodied. China won the title beating Chinese Taipei 75-50. Semifinalists Ukraine and Thailand finished in 3-4 place.

In the Para badminton mixed team relay, Brazil finished champions, while Azerbaijan finished second and Benin third.

Individual Events Result
Team Events Result