{"id":13234,"date":"2025-01-06T09:47:28","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T02:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/?p=13234"},"modified":"2025-01-06T09:48:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T02:48:24","slug":"officiating-role-empowers-asiimwe-ramasamy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/whats-new\/officiating-role-empowers-asiimwe-ramasamy","title":{"rendered":"Officiating Role Empowers Asiimwe, Ramasamy"},"content":{"rendered":"

SU5 star Ritah Asiimwe<\/a>\u00a0and retired Para shuttler\u00a0Batri Narayanan Ramasamy<\/a>\u00a0had the unique opportunity to serve as line judges at the recently-concluded HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2024 in Hangzhou, China.<\/p>\n

The opportunity arose after BWF sent out an open invitation to current and former Para badminton players to apply. Candidates needed to be in good standing with their National Paralympic Committee and\/or Member Association, demonstrate their passion for badminton and how the pathway would benefit them. BWF shortlisted 12 persons and the two who made the final cut received on-site training from certified BWF Technical Officials.[vc_single_image image=”13236″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]For Asiimwe, the trip to Hangzhou marked several firsts.<\/p>\n

Not only was it her first time in China, but it was also her debut as an international line judge. A active player, the Ugandan competed at the BWF Para Badminton World Championships in Thailand in February. Previously, the 38-year-old represented her country at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics on Para badminton\u2019s debut.<\/p>\n

More recently, Asiimwe has been balancing her sporting career with motherhood, following the birth of her son Gabriel in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I applied, I was just two months into my recovery after a cesarean,\u201d she shared, emphasising the challenges of juggling her new role with family commitments. She trained her baby to transition to formula feeding for the trip, making the experience even more memorable.<\/p>\n

Describing her time as a line judge as transformative, Asiimwe said: \u201cAt first, I was nervous \u2013 seven out of 10. But after a few matches, I felt more like a nine. I\u2019m confident now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asiimwe officiated 10 high-profile matches across two days, including one featuring Japan\u2019s Kodai Naraoka and Chinese Taipei\u2019s Chou Tien Chen. Observing world-class athletes up close, she marvelled at their precision, agility and explosive gameplay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level here is so different from Para badminton. It\u2019s all about speed, calculation, and sharp focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by the experience, she hopes to advance within badminton\u2019s technical officiating pathways, aspiring to one day become a referee or assessor.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”13235″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]For Ramasamy, the Finals represented a continuation of his lifelong connection to badminton. Retiring as a Para player in 2018, the Indian coach has remained deeply involved in the sport, training athletes through the Sports Authority of India. His first foray into international line judging was an eye-opening experience, underscoring the significant responsibility the role entails.<\/p>\n

\u201cLine judging is not an easy job. It\u2019s about making decisions that impact a player\u2019s match. You must stay focused and dedicated,\u201d Ramasamy remarked.<\/p>\n

Ramasamy\u2019s passion for badminton shone through as he embraced the opportunity to learn from the tournament. Officiating matches featuring players such as Akane Yamaguchi and An Se Young, he absorbed valuable technical insights to bring back to his trainees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream for every Para athlete to become an official and gain in-depth knowledge. Watching these players, I\u2019ve learned so much that I can apply to my coaching,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ramasamy credited BWF for providing pathways for former Para athletes to stay involved in the sport, urging others to take similar opportunities.<\/p>\n

Both Asiimwe and Ramasamy exemplify the profound connection between playing and officiating. While the Ugandan balances her athletic career with technical ambitions and motherhood, Ramasamy channels his experiences into coaching and mentoring. Their contributions at the World Tour Finals demonstrate how Para athletes can continue to enrich the badminton community in new and inspiring ways.[\/vc_column_text]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SU5 star\u00a0Ritah Asiimwe\u00a0and retired Para shuttler\u00a0Batri Narayanan Ramasamy\u00a0had the unique opportunity to serve as line judges at the recently-concluded HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2024 in Hangzhou, China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2630,"featured_media":13237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[294],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whats-new","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2630"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13234"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13241,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13234\/revisions\/13241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}