RIYADH — Two Saudi ladies, Hatoun Al-Sadhan and Ruba Al-Lehaidan, are set to participate for the first time as umpires in the Arab and West Asian badminton championships scheduled to begin in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on Saturday. Al-Sadhan, a badminton player, is a member and an umpire in the Saudi Badminton Federation and a female coach in the first recognized badminton academy. She narrated her story on becoming a professional badminton player to Al-Arabiya.net. She said: "I started playing badminton as a hobby under the tutelage of a Korean women coach. I found the sport appropriate and enjoyable. The Saudi Badminton Federation, which was my main supporter and of all the women umpires, coaches and players, then helped us develop and enhance our skills with constant encouragement. "The Federation provided us with courts for practice as well as to stage competitions. It also held local championships and training courses that elevated our skills both as a player and as an official." She added: "Since childhood, I've been participating in various sports and have become a professional in several disciplines, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, and squash, among others." As to her advice to girls, Al-Sadhan, who holds a bachelor's degree in languages and translation, said: "Whoever wants to play badminton, must learn the basic skills, rules, objectives, and also how to keep scores in the game, aside from honing tactical play that will help them improve their standard and skills." "From my perspective, the player must have the ability to focus on the rival player's moves and the shuttlecock at the same time. He/she should have the ability and agility to cover the court intelligently and keep the shuttle in play — always ahead in predicting the rival's moves and tactics. "And to reach this level, the player has to build his stamina and endurance level with regular exercising while also show great patience in developing his/her strokes and shot-making and undergo training continuously," she said. Al-Sadhan said: "Despite playing many sports, I liked badminton the most, as it involves a lot of enthusiasm, pleasure and safety. For this reason, I joined the training classes as a regular student. This created keen interest within me to accomplish something in this sport — both as a player and an official. After that, I began to develop my skills in the game." She added: "Selecting me as one among the umpires is a challenge and a new opportunity for me to represent my country in this important sports event, along with an elite panel of Arab and international umpires. "I've gained a lot of experience both as a player and a keen student of the game. My experience of becoming an umpire and then officiating in games in every aspect helped me grow as I learned not only from my mistakes but from the mistakes made by players and officials, understood the handling of some exceptional cases in counting points, in addition to becoming proficient on how to manage big competitions efficiently and skillfully. "With all these qualities, I've been able to overcome the most difficult technical, administrative and organizational pressures. These have had a positive impact on my method of work and skills in the field of umpiring and training." Al-Sadhan added: "I've participated in the administration and umpiring of many local women's championships held by the Saudi Badminton Federation. Among these were the First Women's Championship and the Kingdom's Open Championship for Women, in addition to many championships organized by foreign badminton clubs in Saudi Arabia." She said: "I was keen to grow in the game and kept in touch with some international coaches and umpires, who have long experience in this field. This I could do due to my interaction with some female players in the overseas Indian and Philippines badminton clubs, which enabled me to gain a lot of experience."
