Badminton

Under the badminton intervention, the Tata Trusts are setting up grassroot centres in Mizoram; these form the base of the Trusts’ pyramid-structured approach to badminton development. Tata Trusts will establish a total of 40 grassroot centres, of which 30 are currently operational. These will increase the participation in the sport and reach out to children in the age group of 8-14 years to provide structured training through local coaches. The grassroots programme is spread over all eight districts of Mizoram and will be targeting 1,600 children over three years.

Each grassroot centre is governed by a four-member Grassroot Management Committee (GMC), comprising a member of the local community, a trainer, a district badminton officer (part of the Mizoram Badminton Association) and a senior player from the locality. The GMC is registered with the Mizoram Badminton Association and is responsible for ensuring quality coaching and smooth operations of the centre. Nominal fees (defined by the GMC) are collected from participants, which will help to keep the initiative sustainable.

Experienced coaches from Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA) conduct coach education programmes for the local trainers and provide the guidance required to improve the badminton coaching and most importantly, make it fun for the children, so that they fall in love with the sport.

Impact: 30 grassroot centres; 8 districts; 1,000+ players; 30 trainers

Under the badminton intervention, the Tata Trusts have set up regional development centres (RDCs); these form the second tier of the pyramid approach to sport development. At the RDCs, talented youngsters identified from the grassroots centres will be provided with more intensive training under experienced coaches. The intent is to help them pursue the sport as a career. The RDCs are planned to be set up across six of the eight districts in Mizoram.

The RDCs will not only provide a path to excellence to the athletes, but also to coaches from the state. The Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA) will provide structured and periodic training for grassroot level coaches and will track their performance. Dedicated and technically sound coaches will be promoted to coach in the RDCs. They will also get the opportunity to train with Gopichand in his academy in Hyderabad. Apart from honing technical skills, PGBA will also work on soft skills, pedagogy and personality to develop great coaches.

Currently two RDCs are operational in Aizawl and Serchip, training 16 and 10 participants respectively. Three coaches from the grassroot programme have been promoted as RDC coaches.

Under the badminton intervention, the Tata Trusts are establishing a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at a high-altitude location in Siphir village of Mizoram. Here the best emerging talent pursuing the sport professionally will receive training from national and international coaches through regular trainings and camps.

The COE will be a residential set-up, where along with state-of-the-art badminton facilities and training, participants will receive tutoring and support to complete their education. Located at an altitude of 1,400 meters above sea level, it will also host talented players from other sports who desire to improve their endurance under high altitude conditions.

The COE will have facilities such as gymnasium, swimming pool, athletic track, and a multi-purpose hall for all athletes. A sports science lab and a recovery and rehabilitation centre on campus will be manned by trained and experienced sports physiotherapists, nutritionists and psychologists to help improve overall performance and development of participants. These facilities will also be accessible to other players in the state and from across India, at nominal rates.