MUMBAI: With an endeavour to bring badminton to the forefront and help budding players achieve their dreams, Yuva Badminton League is all set to be unveiled. The league will see the likes of actress Urvashi Dolakia, Deepshikha Nagpal, Aastha Choudhary, Geetanjali Mishra, Upasna Singh and Neha Mehta own teams to contest in the tournament.
Started by Pawan Jangid, founder, Capt. Vineet Chaturvedi CEO and Co-Founder, Capt. Pawan Gupta - Chief Commercial officer; Yuva Badminton League has a vision of making the game accessible to every household in India.
“We got to know about ace badminton players such as Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Jwala Gutta Gopichand, once they got medals on an international level, but did we support them when they were on the road to their hard work to achieve these goals? No, right? So, this thought was always on the back of my mind. We wanted to contribute to the same sports which we all have been playing since our childhood,” says Vineet.
He adds, “Unfortunately, today's generation, especially kids, are not at all interested in outdoor activities, outdoor games. There are mobile-kids or laptop-kids, especially in metro cities where there is a lack of infrastructure or actual grounds. While stadiums are there, they’re out of reach of the general public.”
The teams, namely Flying warriors, Super Smashers, Net Ninjas, Smash Masters, Racket Raiders, Speedy Shuttlers, will comprise of budding badminton players, headed by celebrities.
Talking about roping TV actors in the league, as team owners, he says, “Television is a medium that connects the public on the grassroots level, even in tier 2 cities, small towns; people watch television while eating food, and they stay together while watching something on the other on television. Hence, we decided to go ahead with the names that are popular in general households and not just theatres, at the same time who have a vision to support the sports on a grassroots level. We went with this idea firstly to Geetanjali Mishra, who was also there in the celebrity cricket league in Jodhpur and it was a straight yes from her side.”
He adds, “Then we spoke to Aastha Chaudhary and she also supported this immediately. With two celebrities already on board, the road became a little easier for us. Further sequentially we spoke to Deepshikha Nagpal, Upasana Singh, Neha Mehta, and Urvashi Dholakia. We were fortunate enough to find people who were sports enthusiasts as well as ready to extend their support to the betterment of the sports industry on a grassroots level.”
Pawan is confident that many great badminton players will emerge from this tournament. “The vision of the league starts with supporting the badminton industry at the grassroots levels. We all know big players when they become big by winning medals on an international level, but we must support them when they are working hard at City level or State level. We will be very happy and fortunate to see some of the players coming out of this league and making a big for the country,” he says.
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