Badminton
How a refugee fled Iran for her love of badminton
On a rainy November morning in 2018, 15-year-old Dorsa Yavarivafa and her mother left Tehran for Turkey with fake German passports – the first thing she grabbed when she was told they were leaving at 4 a.m. was her badminton bag.
The pair flew a month later to Germany, then to Belgium and eventually to France. Yavarivafa would be jailed three times — once entirely alone for a day, crying and taken from her mother — before she made it to Birmingham, England at the end of 2019 and finally found a home.
She said she fled her country for two reasons: her mother wanted to change her religion and Yavarivafa had repeatedly been rejected by the national badminton team without being told why.
“I was really scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen to me,” said Yavarivafa, who will turn 21 in July while competing at the Paris 2024 Games as part of the largest refugee Olympic team to date, with 36 athletes from 11 countries.
“I didn’t know where I was going. My mum just said we were going to go to another country, but she never told me how or where,” Yavarivafa added.
“It was all worth it. Now, that I think back about it — all that suffering is over so I’m really happy now.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced its first refugee team at the Rio 2016 Games with 10 athletes to raise awareness of the issue as hundreds of thousands of people were pouring into Europe from the Middle East and elsewhere escaping conflict and poverty.
“(My parents) were really proud when we heard that I got accepted,” Yavarivafa said. “We were all crying… just really a relief, a relief of anxiety.”
Yavarivafa was introduced to the sport by her father, who sells car parts and stayed in Iran in case his wife and daughter needed to go back.
“He did come here about six months ago. That’s where I saw him after five years,” she said. “It was such an emotional moment — saw him in the airport, crying with excitement.”
Yavarivafa has been playing badminton for a decade, but began training seriously when she was 11-years-old.
“I started to win a lot of tournaments in Iran,” Yavarivafa said. “That’s where I took it seriously and I watched a lot of badminton. I got inspired by a lot of people – one of them is (Spain’s) Carolina Marin.”
Yavarivafa said her former coach put her in touch with Beijing 2008 Olympian Kaveh Mehrabi of Iran, who helped her apply to be a part of the Refugee Athlete Scholarship programme.
The 20-year-old is now studying sports and exercise science at Middlesex University in London and trains three times a week at the Sankey Academy, an independent badminton club in Milton Keynes.
Yavarivafa hopes to “get a lot of experience” in Paris and talk to her idols, including Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Marin, who beat India’s PV Sindhu 19-21 21-12 21-15. Marin had to pull out of the Tokyo 2020 Games after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
When asked what it meant to be part of the refugee team, Yavarivafa said she has a message for the world’s 100 million refugees: “You’re not alone… It doesn’t matter where you come from. Doesn’t matter where are you living now, dreams come true.”
“Not many people look at us as a normal people,” Yavarivafa added. “We are normal. We are normal people like everyone else.”
-Reuters
The Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) has continued its nationwide grassroots development drive with a two-day outreach training held in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
Organised in collaboration with the Adamawa State Sports Council, the State Ministry of Education, and the Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF), Adamawa chapter, the training took place on 24 and 25 September 2025 at the General Murtala Mohammed College hall.
A total of 20 Physical Education teachers and 80 secondary school students from the Yola area participated in the intensive programme, which aimed to introduce badminton to schools and promote the sport at the grassroots level.
The training was facilitated by a team of five coaches led by George Shitta, who also serves as the Director of Sports at the Taraba State Sports Commission. Participants were taken through the fundamentals of badminton, including grip techniques, footwork, serving, stroke execution, game strategy, and proper warm-up routines.
According to the organisers, the programme was part of the BFN’s ongoing partnership with the Community Sports and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative, which has supported similar “Shuttle Time” and “Outreach Badminton Training” sessions across the country over the past three years. These sessions are designed to help teachers and students learn the game together while fostering teamwork, discipline, and social development.
The trainees actively engaged with the coaches — asking questions, sharing experiences, and demonstrating newly acquired skills. At the end of the programme, each participating school received badminton kits, including rackets, shuttlecocks, and nets, to help sustain practice beyond the training.
The Director of the Adamawa State Sports Council, Mr. Daniel Ahmed, graced the event, while the lead facilitator, George Shitta, paid courtesy visits to key education stakeholders — Hajiya Aisha M. Umar, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, and Birsan Panuel, Executive Secretary of the Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB).
Organisers described the initiative as a model of effective collaboration among sports authorities, education agencies, and development partners — a partnership they hope will continue to enhance both the academic and athletic growth of teachers, coaches, and students in Adamawa State.
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The curtain fell on the 8th Lagos International Badminton Classics at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Saturday, with host nation Nigeria making the podium and the event earning praise as a model for sports tourism in Africa.
Though global heavyweights dominated the finals, Nigeria’s Obanisola and her partner gave the home crowd reason to cheer by clinching bronze in the Women’s Doubles, ensuring the green and white were represented on the podium.
Elsewhere, India’s S. Lele defended her Women’s Singles crown with a 21-15, 21-17 victory over compatriot Kashyap, while Russia’s neutral duo Alimov and Ogloblin sealed Men’s Doubles gold against UAE’s Ravikrishna and Rimdahoi.
Tournament organizers hailed the event as a resounding success. “The Lagos International Badminton Classics has once again proven that Nigeria is ready to host world-class sporting events,” said Francis Orbih, President of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN). “We are building a brand that showcases Africa’s talent, hospitality, and passion for badminton.”
With $17,500 prize money shared among winners and athletes praising the hospitality of Lagos, the championship reaffirmed Nigeria’s growing profile as a hub for global sports. The 9th edition in 2026 promises an even bigger spectacle.
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Indonesia stamped their authority on the 8th Lagos International Badminton Classics, turning the Teslim Balogun Stadium into a stage of triumph as they swept multiple gold medals on the final day of action.
From the opening Mixed Doubles clash to the showpiece Men’s Singles final, the Southeast Asian powerhouse asserted its dominance.
The pair of Prasetyo and Munggaren set the tone by defeating India’s Ravat and Maneesha 21-15, 21-17, before P. Shujiwo powered past Japan’s M. Koga 21-15, 21-17 in a pulsating Men’s Singles final.
The Indonesians celebrate in style
The Women’s Doubles final confirmed Indonesia’s superiority, with Meida and Nastine dispatching UAE’s Quathun and Sreejithparol in just 25 minutes (21-18, 21-7), the shortest contest of the evening.
The highlight of the celebrations came as Indonesia’s national anthem echoed repeatedly through the Okoya Thomas Indoor Hall, with Ambassador Bambang Suharto personally presenting the Men’s Singles trophy to Shujiwo — a moment that underscored the national pride attached to the victories.
With three golds and several silver finishes, Indonesia emerged as the undisputed star nation of Africa’s premier badminton competition.
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