Kalie van Heerden – BWF Meritorious Service Award Winner

The BWF Meritorious Service Award is presented to honour exemplary service to badminton at the national level.

Badminton South Africa’s Kalie van Heerden has been awarded the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Meritorious Service Award.

The BOLAND/CAPE WINELANDS BADMINTON chairperson said the award, which will be handed to him at the Melvill Cup in Bloemfontein later this year, came as a complete surprise for him.

“It caught me off-guard,” he said.

“I was not expecting something like this.”

“It came totally out of the blue and I am thankful to the guys who nominated me for the award.”

Van Heerden added that he is not as young anymore but the award has motivated him to continue working towards seeing Badminton thrive in underprivileged areas.

“Yes, I am not a spring chicken anymore to be everywhere promoting the game,” he said.

“But I will continue to fight to see the sport gaining exposure in underprivileged backgrounds.”

“It cannot be that the second largest sport in the world remains under-developed in our country.”

Badminton South Africa’s President Glen Brothers congratulated van Heerden.

“To be recognised on the world stage is important for Badminton South Africa and we are pleased to see our members get the recognition they deserve.”

“Kalie’s work in bringing badminton to underprivileged areas is very important and we hope to have him continue pushing the sport forward in the years to come.”

 

 

March 2020 – https://www.facebook.com/badmintonsouthafrica/posts/1501283876701486