Jamshedpur: The East Singh-bhum Badminton Association (ESBA) will conduct an inter-school event at the landmark Mohan Ahuja Stadium in Bistupur here from April 24 to 26.
The tournament is making a comeback after five years, thanks to a feud between the then Jamshedpur District Badminton Association (JDBA) and Jharkhand Badminton Association (JBA)
But with the new ESBA in place, decks have been cleared for the event to start in a hassle-free manner.
Around 30 city-based schools are expected to participate in the three-day tourney to be played in the singles format, said ESBA executive president K. Prabhakar Rao. He added the tournament will be held in the Under-11, 13, 15 and 17 age categories for boys and girls.
Rao, also the secretary of JBA, said they were happy to conduct the tournament as school children needed exposure to the game. "We will also felicitate the talents in the Under-11 and Under-13 age groups. This is intended to encourage budding shuttlers," he said.
Earlier, the feud between JDBA and JBA had almost brought curtains on the event.
Amid the differences, the JDBA went ahead with an inter-school event in January last year. However, the JBA did not give permission to host the tournament at Mohan Ahuja Stadium. The state shuttle outfit had said that the district body had been disaffiliated and had no authority to use the venue.
The JDBA, on the other hand, had said the lease of the stadium had expired and that the JBA was using it illegally.
The matter then went to the then sub-divisional officer, Suraj Kumar, who denied JDBA permission to hold the tournament after going thro-ugh the papers (submitted by JBA) that the stadium's lease was till December 2017.
Meanwhile, a new 7.5KV generator has been installed for power supply to the stadium after Jusco snapped supply because of dues.
"We purchased the generator to efficiently conduct the inter-school tournament. The generator will also be used for conducting training sessions at the cradle run at the venue," a district association office bearer said.
