Filmmaker Zack Snyder named as USA Badminton Ambassador

Hollywood filmmaker Zack Snyder, director of such blockbusters as 300 and Justice League, has been appointed an Ambassador to the USA Badminton Association.

The U.S. governing body said in a press release Friday that Zack Snyder (pictured left) is a long-time badminton enthusiast who has been working with them and with coach Alistair Casey, who coaches Rio Olympian Iris Wang.

“It’s an incredible game,” the press release quotes Snyder as saying. “It captured my imagination, and I’m excited to support the Association as an ambassador.”

“I am thrilled about announcing Zack’s association and ambassadorship with USA Badminton,” says USA Badminton Interim CEO Linda French. “I am confident that we will be able to further increase his passion, love and support for our sport and athletes in the coming years.”

Linda French and USA Badminton will be glad at another positive development in recent weeks. Shortly after the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) put the national governing body of the sport in the spotlight of the mainstream press by announcing plans to decertify it, the Orange County Register reported that the USOPC found the association fully compliant with six areas of its by-laws.

With the United States – which had athletes in all five badminton disciplines in Rio – is not currently on track to send any doubles pairs to Tokyo, it should have no trouble qualifying players in both singles disciplines in 2020.  What’s more, with world #13 Zhang Beiwen having been eligible from last year to represent the nation at the Worlds, the U.S. could be looking at its highest-ranked Olympian in many years.

But the development involving Zack Snyder could also become part of USA Badminton’s larger mission of popularizing the sport in the country.  French says she hopes that, as ambassador, “Snyder can bring increased publicity, fundraising and commercial opportunities,” and that he could even be persuaded to make a badminton movie.

While badminton has been depicted in two feature films in Indonesia in the past decade – King and Susi Susanti: Love All – in Hollywood, the sport has gotten mention mostly off-screen.  Stars such as Kunal Nayyar and Deepika Padukone – and much earlier, Paul Newman – have mentioned their connection to the sport on American talk shows but it has yet to make its way onto the silver screen.

Click here to read the full press release from the USA Badminton website