By Samachar Vishesh News
Chandigarh 19th Dec:- The
Indian badminton scenario has undergone dramatic change in the last few years.
Indian players' dominance on the world stage stands testimony to the fact that
the subcontinent has emerged as a badminton powerhouse on the global arena. And
to continue this up charge India needs to do a lot more not just in the
development programmes at grass root level but in the field of coaching as
well. Badminton Gurukul, an initiative by the quintessential badminton superstar
and guru Pullela Gopichand and former international shuttler Supriya Devgun, is
trying to address that and more.
Badminton Gurukul, in partnership
with the Tata Group and associate partners TVS Logistics Group, have set
up 28 training centres
at 14 cities across India where 1000+ students are undergoing training under 20
former national and international badminton stars. The simple yet short premise
is to bring on board the best coaching talent in the country and set up a
structured and systematic programme to provide youngsters the opportunity to
learn a sport and in grain a healthy lifestyle.
Talking about the initiative during a
press conference in Mumbai today, the Dronacharya Award winner Indian national
coach Pullela Gopichand, who is also the Mentor, Founder and Director of
Badminton Gurukul said that with the kind of results we've had in the
international arena, and the unexpected boom badminton has seen in the last few
years, a lot of badminton courts that have come up, and consequently there is an
increased requirement for quality badminton coaches across the country. He said
that keeping all this in mind, Badminton Gurukul have come up with this unique
knowledge sharing forum where we are involving the ex-players to come forward
and share their experience with the young and upcoming shuttlers. This is not
just coaching, but many steps ahead of that. These players have experienced
elite coaching programmes first hand and played at the highest level to
understand the hard work and rigour required to succeed at the top level. This
is an excellent combination and I am sure it will improve the quality of
coaching across India and will lead to a greater talent pool across the
country.
The former India international, who
is also the Founder and Managing Director of Badminton Gurukul, Supriya touched
many hearts when she said that with Badminton Gurukul, we are trying to restore
dignity and respect for our coaches, give a second wing career for our
ex-achievers, put together high quality professionally-run events, standardize
operations and bring in a curriculum, and with all these, we are trying to
institutionalize the sport. Through Badminton Gurukul, we are trying to make
sport a way of life and teach our kids to look beyond medals. For us, the
success parameter is not the amount of money one earns, it is the number of
lives we touch, whether by teaching you sport or by bringing you back to the
sport as an administrator or as a coach, for us that is success. Through
Badminton Gurukul, we want to achieve that.
Such an initiative is not possible
without corporate support. Talking about the Tata group’s partnership with
Badminton Gurukul, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, Harish Bhat, said that we are
delighted to partner with Badminton Gurukul, an initiative that will bring together
the best coaching talent in the country on one platform and help youngsters to
pursue and excel in the sport through a structured and systematic programme.
For nearly a century, the Tata group has been committed to developing the
Indian sports landscape and has supported sportspersons across disciplines. We
believe that sports has the potential to act as a catalyst for positive social
change and plays an important role in building a healthy and inclusive society.
Ravikumar Swaminathan, vice-chairman
of TVS Logistics Group, associate partners of Badminton Gurukul, added that at
TVS, we understand the importance of corporate support for sports and
sportspersons, and we found that in complete sync with the Badminton Gurukul
initiative. It is not only helping the growth of the sport in the country but
also helping the sportsperson grow. It gives us immense pleasure to be
associated with this initiative as badminton is one of the most loved sports in
the country and our badminton stars are adored by all.
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