Thimphu, Bhutan, August 23, 2022: Bhutan badminton athletes Anish Gurung and Jimba Sangay Lhendup left on Sunday, August 21, for a one-year training camp in Thailand to prepare for the Hangzhou Asian Games.
With funding from Olympic Solidarity and the support of the Bhutan Olympic Committee, the pair will undergo a year-long training programme at Ponsana Badminton Academy in Bangkok.
Gurung, 22, and Lhendup, 20, have been identified as long-term prospects by the Bhutan Badminton Federation and have been earmarked to represent the Himalayan nation at the Hangzhou Asian Games next year, as well as the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in 2026.
This is the first time two athletes from Bhutan have been sent on a year-long training programme in preparation for an international multi-sports event.
The Bhutan Badminton Federation, wishing both athletes success, added it hoped this move would help motivate aspiring future stars to work hard and strive for excellence.
The initiative is funded by the Continental Athletes Support Grant 2022 under the auspices of the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity scheme.
Gurung and Lhendup will train at the academy run by Thailand's former world number four Boonsak Ponsana, who started training junior players in 2017.
