The third and final week of the round robin matches in the Shuttle Time Dubai Badminton Club Championships at Dubai Sports World last weekend saw the semi-finalists in Group A and the finalists in Group B decided in another day of fantastic badminton.

The 120 players from 12 teams have fought it out over the last three weeks for a shot at the inaugural Club Championships title. The teams have played off in two groups, with two pools of four teams in Group A and one pool of four teams in Group B.

Professional Sports Academy led Group A Pool A heading into Friday's clashes, and maintained their winning form with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Shuttle Hawks, securing their place in the Group A semi-finals where they will meet Team Victor, who made it through after a 4-1 win over Friday Smashers B.

In Group A, Pool B India Club and Shuttle Shooters both went into Friday's games on four points with two wins a piece, but it was India Club who prevailed, defeating Shuttle Shooters 3-2 and heading for the semi-finals. However Shuttle Shooters' two previous wins were enough to also put them through to the semi-finals.

Friday's action also saw the finalists in Group B decided. With two wins on the board, Badeemonz went into their clash against second placed Badmintown as favourites, and in a tough encounter won 3-2 and moved into the final.

Arab Badminton Club recovered from their first round loss to win in the second round and were still in the running for a place in the finals. A strong performance against Captain Badminton Club saw them take a 5-0 win and they will now face Badeemonz in the finals next week.

All the action in the semi-finals and finals will commence at 5 p.m. on Friday 21st August at Dubai Sports World, with the finals of Group A to be contested on Friday 28th August.

The team format sees players representing 12 clubs and academies across Dubai compete in five categories; Men's Singles, Men's Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Boy's/Women's Doubles and Masters Doubles (40 and above). Eight teams are contesting Group A, with a further four contesting Group B.

Shuttle Time Dubai is an innovative, engaging and inclusive development programme which aims to encourage participation in badminton across the community. In addition to the Club Championships, Shuttle Time is being implemented through a range of programmes and activities including teacher training and coaching development, Schools Championships and the provision of free courts at Dubai Sports World. The Shuttle Time Dubai programme is being implemented as part of the arrangement between the BWF and Dubai Sports Council, the pinnacle of which is the hosting of the Dubai World Superseries Finals in Dubai each December from 2014-2017.

With the grassroots programme flourishing in Dubai, interest in the season-ending Dubai World Superseries Finals is building as the world's best players race to qualify for one of the most prestigious titles on the badminton calendar. Only the top eight ranked players in each category will qualify to battle it out for their share of the US$1million prize pool, and after a thrilling event last year, this year's World Superseries Finals from 9th-13th December at the Hamdan Sports Complex promises to be even more exciting with qualification points for the 2016 Olympic Games also on the line.
Source: WAM