Badminton in Cyprus has its roots in a small mountain village, high up on the Troodos range. The village of Amiantos (asbestos in English) grew rapidly in size in the 40’s as workers flocked there from all over Cyprus to work in the asbestos mines near the village. After independence, a Danish manager was imported who took over the management of the mines. His name was Marker and he happened to be a badminton fanatic. Of course he brought his shuttles and his rackets with him but to his dismay, badminton was not a known sport in the island. It was played solely in the British Bases by army personnel and the Bases were far away from Amiantos.
Marker did not take long to figure out the answer to his problem. By the 60’s the population of the village began to dwindle as people started leaving Amiantos for better jobs in the cities. The community cinema which thrived during the high days of asbestos mining now lay deserted in the village, a relic of better days of the past.
Marker visited the village Council and soon managed to convince them for permission to convert the place into a badminton hall. He promised that he would teach the village youngsters the art of playing badminton and reckoned that this would help to stem urbanization, the scourge of all mountain communities at the time. Immediately he set off to do his job and soon, the strange “birds” that started flying in what used to be a deserted cinema, attracted the attention of the locals.
The village youngsters flocked to the old cinema and Marker was a very happy man. He got at last his badminton hall and duly started coaching his eager students. In a very short time some of his disciples started showing promise and before long one or two began to challenge the Danish master.
Unfortunately, our story does not have a happy end. Marker soon died, killed in a car accident near Amiantos. He was buried in the village and even today many people from Amiantos have fond memories of him.
Back in 1983, when the Cyprus Badminton Federation was established, one of the first clubs that became affiliated to the Federation was “Albatross Badminton Club”. The members of this club originate from Amiantos and were at the time pupils of Marker. This club is still going strong and has been the champion of Cyprus at club level for a number of times. Its members have also won numerous individual titles in tournaments and have played for their country in international events.
The Cyprus Badminton Federation has its roots in the HTI (Higher Technical Institute) where some badminton enthusiasts (mainly trained in the UK), back in 1981, set up a court in the low ceiling canteen of the Institute. Many students became interested in the new activity and within a year badminton was all the rage at the HTI. It was around this time that the Amiantos people heard rumors of badminton being played at the Institute and a number of them descended on to HTI. Soon, the canteen became too small and better venues were sought. In February 1983 a giant step was taken when the Cyprus Badminton Federation was established.