On November 5, a badminton tournament among female international students of South Ural State University took place.
Participants of the badminton tournament were about 40 female students from China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and other countries.
President of the SUSU Association of International Students, Uvindu Wijeweera, told us about why it was decided to hold this tournament.
“One way or another, all sport competitions are organised for boys, so female student from China Jin Zhi proposed to hold a competition intended for girls as well.”
Jin Zhi, SUSU’s postgraduate student from China, also took part in the tournament. In her motherland, in China, this sport is more popular than in Russia.
“I’ve been playing badminton since childhood; it has always been my hobby. In China, this is a popular sport, so I proposed to hold such an event. In turn, the President of the Association of International Students approved this proposal and helped to organise the tournament.”
The tournament was held in several rounds. Holders of the 1st, the 2nd and the 3rd places are students from China, Jin Zhi is among them. She became the bronze medalist.
“I’ve long since brought my racket here from China, so I had a chance to get prepared for this competition. I took the 3rd place and was awarded a certificate and a medal. Everybody enjoyed the tournament and it didn’t matter who took which place. I communicate with all fellow participants; some of them are my close friends. For us, participation was more important than the victory.”
Medalists were awarded certificates and medals, as well as presents from the university – a backpack and a thermos with the university’s logo.
“This year, we’ve got a big number of sport events. Organiser of sport-related events is a student from Iraq, Syala Ahmed Waad, who is studying at the Institute of Sport, Tourism and Service. Together we decided that sport events are going to be useful in order to unite students from different countries,” says President of the SUSU Association of International Students, Uvindu Wijeweera.
In s couple of months, tournaments are to be held in volleyball and basketball among male and female students from other countries. Also, a contest called “Miss AIS” is to be held.
