102 athletes show up for badminton Kenya ranking tourney

102 badminton athletes participated in a two-day National Badminton Ranking Tournament in Nairobi, a tourney that has been used to pick the top eight athletes per category, who will be invited for the 2026 national trials.

Speaking from the Rajjput Hall, South C, Nairobi on Saturday, federation President Peter Muchiri added that the top eight ranked players will be invited on January 10th for a selection that will only pick 20 that will head to the All-Africa Games in Botswana, February 2026.

"We are just rejuvenating this federation because as you know we dint have a lot of activities this year, but that is going to change as our 2026 calendar year starts now," said Muchiri.

"Next year we will organize more local tournaments with age groups, going as low as to the kindergarten levels, because we also have to think about the future," added Muchiri emphasizing that badminton players in Kenya should be ready for more local and international tournaments.

Kenya's number one ranked badminton player Sammy Sikoyo who also participated in the Birmingham 2022 Common wealth games urged the federation to develop a curriculum of educating badminton players on the rules of the game.

The 102 athletes from over 20 Counties countrywide will now wait until Tuesday next week when Badminton Kenya will announce the top eight players per category, who in turn will qualify for the national trials, that will seek only 20 for the All-Africa games 2026, in February Botswana

The top eight will be invited for a national trial on 10th January 2026, and will play round robin games against themselves as they seek the All-Africa ticket

The national Badminton Ranking tournament had four Categories, namely the men's singles, men's doubles, ladies singles and the ladies’ doubles.