What is most discernible during a visit to any sports complex during this summer, is the huge demand for booking slots to play badminton. And it was no different at Vijayanagar Colony GHMC Sports Complex the other morning when the official in-charge Raj Kumar was struggling to satisfy the enthusiastic shuttlers. “All this thanks to Saina Nehwal,” he insists.
As part of the efforts to accommodate aspiring players, GHMC took the services of national umpire and qualified NIS coach Ravi Anand Kumar to take up the task of coaching.
“Even if we have another four indoor stadia in the vicinity, we may not be able to meet this demand,” says another GHMC Circle in-charge Prithviraj. If there is one sport where an individual, if he or she has the talent, can go a long way in Indian sport it has to be badminton. “There is less of politics in this sport and 99 out of 100 per cent, any talented player can always look ahead and dream big because the system is such,” says Anand Babu, even while reminding that badminton is still one of the very few sports in India which has a definite structure and a calendar.
So, when the youngest of them all at Vijayanagar Colony, Saisri of St. Ann's High School turns up daily she quite naturally wants to achieve something big. “I wish to come regularly and become a real good player like Saina,” she says with a typical innocence for her age.
So is the case of the other girls Neha and Anushka who come from the near-by areas to the venue.
Unfortunately, the venue is not available in the evenings for training once the summer camp ends.
This is a major handicap for the genuinely interested who want to continue even after the summer camp.
Though the general impression given by some of the officials is that not many in the Colony are interested, unless the GHMC officials make a sincere effort in a positive way in this regard, the indoor hall with two synthetic courts may only turn out to be another of those commercial ventures.
