A six- day coaching clinic for senior and junior badminton players began at the sports hall of the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday.

The course, which is for three days each in Accra and Takoradi in the Western Region is under the auspices of the African Badminton Federation (ABF) and the Badminton Association of Ghana.

Speaking to GNA Sports Mr. Francis Dickson, Chairman of the Africa Region II in charge of West and Central Africa said the course is aimed at training young players for the All Africa Games, the Commonwealth Games and all impending international competitions.

He said the players would undergo movement, style, basic rules, and general guidelines in playing Badminton and expressed the hope that they would be ready for international competitions as early as possible.

Mr. Dickson said Ghana is endowed with a lot of talents but they are not able to perform well at the international level due to lack of motivation and equipment. He said what the sport needs is a better sponsorship package and good facilities to complement the little subsidy the government gives them to make it to greater heights.

Mr. Tunde Kazeem, a Nigerian grade one coach, who is the instructor for the course, said the players have shown a lot of eagerness and dexterity throughout the preliminary stages of the exercise and it is very a very positive sign.

He said the players need a lot of exposure to prepare them for competitions, adding that those on the course are very talented and must be assisted to gain experience.