Padukone Badminton Academy gets Tata sponsorship

Bangalore, Feb 20 (UNI) Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, set up by former All England Champion Prakash Padukone, has got a boost, with Tata Sons and Tata Motor Finance coming forward to sponsor the Academy activities.

The Academy would henceforth be called Tata Padukone Badminton Academy. The agreement for sponsorship was signed in December last, according to a release from the Academy here today.

The sponsorship would initially be for a period of eight months and the amount would cover all expenses of the Academy, including its lease for the five courts from Karnataka Badminton Association and four courts from Pune District and Metropolitan Badminton Association for the Pune centre, day-to-day expenses and participation of Academy players in international tournaments and camps, the release said.

Commenting on the association, Academy Director Prakash Padukone said ''we are pleased to have the backing of the Tata Group, who have a long association with sports. It will enable us to continue our association with foreign coaching centres on a reciprocal basis.

Morten Frost, who has a centre in Aarhus, Denmark, and Tom John in England, have both expressed interest in hosting Indian players and sending their players to Bangalore. Four of England's top singles players, including Aamir Ghaffar and Nicholas Kidd, are likely to spend four to six weeks in June-July this year at the Academy. Talks are on in this direction.'' The Academy, established in October 1994, had produced many shuttlers who have made a mark in the international arena like National Badminton Coach and former All England Champion Pullela Gopichand, Anup Sridhar, Aravind Bhat, Anand Pawar and Trupti Murgunde. After tasting success in Bangalore, the country's first privately sponsored Academy opened its branch in Pune in 1999 for catering to talent in that region.

Trainees have been regularly sent abroad for camps by the Academy. The Academy had hosted players from England, the US, Canada, Denmark, Indonesia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Mauritius.

Besides Padukone, former National Coach Vimal Kumar and T R Balachandran were the Coaches in Bangalore, while Anil Modak and Hemant Hardikar look after the coaching aspect in Pune.

UNI