THE Interim President of the Lesotho Badminton Association (LeSBad) Dr Moneoang Leshota says unlike the old version of the sport, which was only suitable for indoors, the newly introduced version of air badminton can also be played outdoors.

She was speaking at the official launch of the new form of badminton, which was held at Sefika High School on Saturday.

Dr Leshota also introduced the new shuttlecock called air-shuttle, which is designed for air badminton.

“The main reason for this event is to launch air badminton that can be played outside. We no longer have to worry about the shuttlecock being blown away by the wind as the new shuttlecock is resistance to the wind to allow us to play outside,” she said.     

During the launch, players were given a chance to play against one another in the four courts which were set outside while the Para-badminton was played indoors.

The launch was attended by different schools from Leribe and Maseru together with players from the St Angela Home of Disabilities.

“It is a big opportunity for us to play outside during this COVID-19 era. We are not worried about recording any new cases of the pandemic because we are now playing out in the open,” Leshota also said.

The plan, she further noted is to introduce the sport to as many schools as possible countrywide.

A lot of teachers, she also said have shown great interest in learning the sport, although their progress was hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic.