London: On 6th October the first ever professional National Badminton League comes to the UK. A new scoring system, an innovative ‘PowerPlay’ point and some of Europe’s top stars are set to bring added excitement to the sport for spectators, which includes a television audience, with match nights set to be aired on Sky Sports and streamed online to fans worldwide.
The NBL is also a hugely exciting opportunity for the players involved: a mixture of top European talent, the country’s best performers and emerging young and home-grown prospects. There are six teams taking part in the NBL in the first season: Birmingham Lions, Team Derby, Loughborough Sport, MK Badminton, University of Nottingham Badminton and Surrey Smashers. I was lucky enough to have been sold to the Birmingham Lions at the auction which took place in June, and there I will team up with my former coach Lorraine Cole.
The Lions are supported by the University of Birmingham, which means a return to the place where I studied for three years between 2009 and 2012. I owe a lot to the university, and Lorraine in particular, so it will be fantastic to be able to go back and try to bring the first NBL title to the city.
The Birmingham Lions’ first match against Team Derby will be held at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. Team Derby can boast European silver medallist Rajiv Ouseph, as well as 2004 Olympic silver medallist Gail Emms. It is likely that I will be playing against her in the mixed doubles and as someone I looked up to when I was younger and am now coached by it is quite a daunting experience! I am definitely looking forward to it though and, along with the rest of the Lions including Commonwealth silver medallist Heather Olver and National champion Sarah Walker, I am eager to get off to a winning start!
