Colin Bedford, from March, said to be oldest badminton coach in the country aged 88

An 88-year-old, said to be the oldest badminton coach in the country, has celebrated more than 75 years of playing the sport.

Colin Bedford picked up his first racket aged 11 at Hereward School in March, where his teacher, Mr Malpas, told him he had a “flair” for it.

Now, 77 years later, he has been visited by World Badminton Federation representative, Diane Pierre, at a special reunion in Neale-Wade Academy’s sports hall, which was renamed after him in 2022.

“We had a lovely celebration on Saturday,” he said.

“Nearly 70 people turned up who had been in my classes over the years, some of them were well into their 70s.”

“I really thought it was quite an honour for Diane to come to little old March, I actually felt emotional.”

Colin got to show off some of his famous coaching skills by giving Diane a session with low serves, high serves and overhead shots.

“She said she was very impressed,” Colin added.

When he was 14, the coach was selected to play for the Isle of Ely, now part of Cambridgeshire, and even carried on with the sport when he was stationed in the Malayan Jungle during his national service at 18.

“There weren’t any badminton facilities, so we would use the sawdust from the trees we cut down to mark out our own court,” he said.

Upon returning home two years later, he played for the March team, where he stayed for another 40 years.

“I started coaching when I was 23, so this year is my 65th.”

Due to recent health conditions, Colin is no longer able to play, but he plans to carry on coaching for as long as he can.

“It gives me something to look forward to every week.

“I meet all of these people and they say ‘Hello Colin’ and we have a chat and it helps me with my life.”

His wife passed away seven years ago, but the 88-year-old says that it is nice to still be able to mix with others.