Badminton boys

Rising badminton stars Teora Paitai (15) and Chrismagne Elikana (16) are set to improve their skills at a badminton youth development camp in Auckland.

The pair has been selected to take part in the camp by badminton development officer and coach Eric Gomez.

The young men have been playing badminton for the past two years since getting hooked on the game when it was kicked back into action by CISNOC president Hugh Graham.

The young badminton enthusiasts will be in camp in Auckland for eight days along with aspiring badminton players from Tonga, Tahiti and Nauru.

Gomez says he picked the pair based on their keen interest in the game and their potential to one day represent the Cooks in badminton on the world stage – a goal the young men both share.

“We went along and liked it and kept going,” says Elikana of how he was introduced to the game.

The pair has also been earmarked to represent the Cooks at a Melbourne tournament early next year.