Peace through Badminton!
AP: The Obama administration is sending a women's badminton team to Iran this week as part of a broad bid to engage the Iranian people through educational and cultural exchanges, the State Department said Monday.
Amid a wide-ranging review of U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic, the trip is the new administration's first foray into such exchanges that began while President George W. Bush was in the White House. Past exchanges have involved athletes from other sports, artists, academics and professionals.
The 12-member team -- eight female players and four coaches and managers representing USA Badminton -- will be in Tehran from Tuesday until Feb. 9 to participate in the Iran Fajr International Badminton Tournament, which begins on Friday, the State Department said in a statement.
It said the U.S. squad was invited by the Iranian Badminton Federation and that they hoped to extend an invitation to Iran's national team to come to the United States in July. This week's trip is being sponsored by the State Department, which since 2006 has promoted people-to-people exchanges with Iran.
From Badminton USA: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Eight female athletes representing USA Badminton (USAB), including 2008 U.S. Olympians Eva Lee (Orange, Calif.) and Mesinee "May" Mangkalakiri (Garden Grove, Calif.) will travel to Tehran, Iran to compete in the Fajr International Badminton Tournament, February 5-8, 2009, at the invitation of the Iranian Badminton Federation.
In conjunction with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) a delegation of 12 Americans, made up of players, coaches and officials, will travel to Tehran for the tournament from February 3- 9, 2009. The Fajr Tournament is a respected international badminton event and an opportunity to compete against a talented Iranian team and other international talent. Last year teams representing 23 countries competed in the Iranian tournament which celebrated its 19th year. The event is sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and results will count toward each player's international ranking.
USA Badminton Athletes competing in the event include:
Eva Lee (Orange, Calif.) - 2008 U.S. Olympian Mesinee "May" Mangkalakiri (Garden Grove, Calif.) - 2008 U.S. Olympian Kimberly Kramer (Bethesda, Md.) Tina-Rose Cavazos (San Antonio, Texas) Rachel Liao (Potomac, Md.) Tiffanie Kimura (Glenview, Ill.) Rena Wang (Arcadia, Calif.) Becky Neumann (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Also in the travelling delegation are:
Ms. Wendy Carter (Gig Harbor, Wash.) - Head Coach Ms. Rita Cardenas-Gamez (San Antonio, Texas) - Team Manager Mr. Paisan Rangsikitpho (Long Beach, Calif.) - USAB Official and BWF Council Member Mr. Dan Cloppas, USA Badminton Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General
ECA and USA Badminton look forward to hosting the Iranian Badminton Federation later this year when they will come to the USA for the 2009 Yonex/OCBC U.S. Open Grand Prix Championships, July 7-12 in Orange, Calif.
In addition to being a tremendous international competitive opportunity for USA Badminton athletes, this Iran exchange is in response to the U.S. government's call for expanded people-to-people exchanges with Iran. The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is including Iranians in a broad range of traditional educational, professional, and cultural exchange programs for the first time since 1979. Over the past two years over 250 Iranians, including artists, athletes, and medical professionals have participated in exchange programs in the United States. Through its Sports United program, ECA has brought the Iranian National Teams for Basketball, Water Polo, Weightlifting and members of the men's and women's National Table Tennis team to the United States. The State Department also sent 20 members of USA Wrestling to Iran to compete in the prestigious Takhti Cup in January 2007.
