Family is the wind beneath Adham Hatem Elgamal’s wings.
“My family have really supported me in badminton. They are the number one support. Once I finished graduation, they told me, ‘Adham, you must continue in badminton. You go achieve your dreams.’”
Their support is what enables Elgamal to test his skills at the elite end of the circuit. As only one of two Egyptians – mixed doubles partner Doha Hany being the other – to feature regularly on the BWF World Tour, Elgamal is – in his words – living a “fantastic dream”.
While he is fully committed to life as a badminton player, he is also keen on furthering his studies in preparation for his post-playing career. With that in mind, he has enrolled for the PGCert in International Sport Management, on a full scholarship granted by the BWF in association with the World Academy of Sport.
Adham Hatem Elgamal with mixed doubles partner Doha Hany.
The fully online, self-paced certificate consists of six modules, and allows students to complete the course between one and five years. The 60 credits obtained from the completion of the certificate is a globally recognised qualification that can be further applied to a Master’s degree for those students who want to continue their studies.
“I love sports. I want to do management in sports because I graduated in business marketing. When I’m finished playing badminton, I want to be involved in both sports and business,” says Elgamal, whose course started in September.
On court, the Egyptian has had a busy year.
From the India Open in January to the Africa Championships in Uganda in February, on to the All England in March, Korea Masters in April, Thailand Open in May, Indonesia Masters in June, Malaysia Masters and Singapore Open in July – before he arrived at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022 in August. Now he’s in Benin for the Benin International.
Elgamal with men’s doubles partner Ahmed Salah.
Seeking to improve his skills, Elgamal spent three months in Kuala Lumpur with a private academy before the World Championships, training with coach Ismail Saman. On weekends he visits another academy – Sport Affairs, which hosts several world class players – to spar.
Elgamal qualified in all three categories as he debuted at the World Championships.
“I’m very happy to be here and qualifying in three events. It was a great experience to know my performance. Maybe next year I will perform better.”
Scholarships are open for the Bachelor of International Sports Management degree. For more on the BWF-WaOS Scholarship Programme, click here.
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