Coach Fernando: Popularizing Badminton in Canada for 15 years

Coach Fernando: Popularizing Badminton in Canada for 15 years
Coach Fernando training a youth team in Thailand

Sri Lankan-born Dharshana Fernando, fondly known as Coach Fernando for his 15-year yeoman services to popularize  badminton in Canada, has earned rich dividends for his pioneering efforts.

“I have been serving as the Peel Region badminton coach for the past three years, and the nearby Halton Region has shown an interest in my work and negotiations are going on at the moment to be the coach there as well,” says Fernando, founder and head coach of Fernando Youth Badminton Academy, in an exclusive interview with newstrails.com.

Peel Region which many South Asian immigrants call home consists of fast-developing towns of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon with a population of more than 1.5 million. Halton Region comprises of the city of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills with a combined population of half a million.

Ace shuttler’s passion for badminton began when he was just ten years of age and became a  junior national champion in Sri Lanka for the age groups 12, 14, 16 and 18. He was also the Triple Crown provincial champion and represented his native country on the national team for several years.

While based in Canada, he frequently tours in Asia, Europe, North America to participate in tournaments and on coaching assignments.

His annual coaching program is conducted from September to June, designed for students, and is also open for adults willing to engage in recreational badminton for a healthier lifestyle.

Still competitively active in his pet sport, he was a gold medalist and placed first at the 2012 US senior International Badminton Championships held in Miami, US, singles event. The tournament was sanctioned by (BWF) Badminton World Federation. Fernando emerged at the silver medalist at 2013 US senior international Badminton championships held in Orange County, California.

He was the national champion in Bahrain for several years in the 80s when Fernando was working in the Arabian Gulf state. He says serving as the coach for Costa Rica’s national team two years ago was a high point in his career.

Presently, he is home after a coaching assignment in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “Last year I was playing in a tournament in Long Beach California. I came to the finals and lost  to a former Malaysian national player in three sets, mainly due to my lack of stamina. A former Thai international came to me and congratulated saying though I lost, my footwork was excellent. He offered me an assignment in June to coach a Thai youth team,” Fernando added.

His training academy boasts about 200 students from the age of six, being trained under 12 professional coaches. Some of his students are playing badminton at the school and regional level. More than 60 per cent of players in his academy do well in school teams.

“Badminton is the second most popular game in the world after soccer, but in Canada it cannot compete with sports like ice hockey and basketball, but from the day I started coaching 15 years ago the number of players has been increasing steadily,” he says, adding that it is one of the most popular games in South and East Asia.

Fernando started coaching at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto15 years ago, and passed the National Coaching Certification Program Level 3. “There are only a handful of coachers qualified in that level in Canada. The highest is Level 4 that allows a coach to train players aspiring for Olympics.”

He says badminton, a game that can be played throughout the year, is an effective deterrent against childhood obesity and diabetes. Three mayors in the cities of Greater Toronto area have felicitated him for his services to the community.

About  two dozen players he trained had reached the regional and national level.

“Many students play till the graduate from highs and after that parents want their children to concentrate on studies rather than playing and therefore there is a dearth of students pursuing the sport after the high school,” says Fernando explaining why many good players are reluctant play during their higher education in the university and college.

china training
Coach Fernando accompanied Canadian student Leandro Gonsalves for spcialized training in China

Fernando has also launched a range of quality racquets bearing his name. “How I started that has an interesting story. When I accompanied a Canadian student for specialized training in China under a former world champion, I borrowed a racquet from someone to play a game. I found it different with better power than other brands. When I further inquired about it, I found it was custom-made. I visited the factory and had discussions with the producers who agreed to manufacture racquets according to my specifications. It is made of carbon fiber in isometric shape increasing the area of the racquet known as the ‘sweet spot’, increasing the power hitting capabilities. It is as good as any high-end brands available in the market.”

Coach Fernando’s youngest daughter, Piumika, too works as a coach in his programs. She is a World Champion in Racketlon, a strenuous game combining all the racquet games – badminton, tennis, table tennis and squash.

She has12 years of experience as a coach and had been trained in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2018. She is also qualified in NCCP Level 1, and Level 2 coaching. Piumika, despite her busy schedule as a coach, completed her Bachelor of Physical and Health Education/ Kinesiology at the University of Toronto and has an MSc in Physiotherapy from the University of Brighton, United Kingdom.

According to the Brampton Guardian newspaper, Leandro Gonsalves, a 17-year old player at Fernando’s Youth Badminton Academy accompanied the coach for a week of training at one of the top badminton schools in China functioning under a former Chinese national player.

Speaking to the media, Fernando said he learned coaching drills there he can use in Canada but acknowledged it is difficult to bring the same training here as the time devoted for the sport is lot less. A Canadian student may work on a shot 20 to 30 times in a session, in China the students would practice the same shot for hours on end, he added, highlighting time constrains the students in Canada are facing. Here, a student plays only on one or two days a week but whereas avid badminton-playing nations in Asia and Europe train players seven days a week.

Coach Fernando is sponsoring a rising badminton star in Sri Lanka by providing him racquets and other requirements, as a tribute to his motherland that provided him a future career. – Somasiri Munasinghe

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