Padukone opens third coaching centre with Tata, CCI

Badminton legend Prakash Padokone has joined hands with the Tata Group and the Cricket Club of India to open his third coaching centre dedicated to under-18 shuttlers from Mumbai and surrounding areas.

Padukone opens third coaching centre with Tata, CCI

The Tata Padukone Badminton Centre, to be looked after on a day-to-day basis by former national shuttler Hufrish Nariman, was inaugurated today by the badminton ace, who said this would be another feeder line, like his Pune centre, for selecting top shuttlers to his main Academy in Bangalore.

"The facilities at the CCI are top class (after the refurbishment of the courts). This will be a feeder centre for players between eight and upto eighteen years of age and the more talented ones would be picked for further training at Bangalore," Padukone said, adding the centre would start functioning from May 1.

"The process of shortlisting the players has already started and around 20 players would be picked for training under Hufrish.

"I and Vimal Kumar (former singles national champion and head coach of Prakash's Academy in Bangalore) would make visits once in three or four months to oversee the progress," the former All-England singles champion said.

Prakash said the aim for starting a third coaching school in Mumbai remained the same when he began his Bangalore Academy 15 years ago.

"When I started playing in the 1970s badminton was not very well known in the south where another sport called ball badminton was popular. I used to practice in a marriage hall. I want to provide the players what I missed as a player", the unassuming champion shuttler said.

"In the last 15 years of its existence the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy has played a major part in whatever success we have achieved at the international level," Prakash said.

"Pullela Gopichand (who is the second man after Prakash to win the coveted All-England singles crown) was with us for four years. We started with Dipankar Bhattacharya and have also trained Aparna Popat and others," he said.

Prakash also said on the sidelines that the Tata Open Badminton championship, which his Academy organises, will be held at the new CCI indoor air-conditioned courts in July.

Amar Sinhji, Head-Human Resources of Tata Capital, said this was the third sports centre being set up by the Group. "Sports, other than cricket, are struggling for support and firms like ours need to help them out", he said.

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