India's next badminton champions will come from smaller cities and districts: Prakash Padukone

Former badminton player Prakash Padukone says most of India's future sporting champions could come from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. He added, however, that young players in smaller cities must get good facilities, coaches and the necessary equipment for this to happen.

Padukone was speaking at the signing of an agreement between the Padukone School of Badminton and the International Institute of Sports Management (IISM). He said badminton's popularity in India is growing steadily, and that the quality of grassroots training also needs to improve.

According to Padukone, talent has always existed in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The problem was that facilities, training and equipment were not available there. He said these three things are the most essential for any sport: good facilities, coaches and the necessary equipment.

He added that sports facilities and resources are now increasing in smaller cities, so the situation is changing. Padukone said that going forward, the country will get a large number of champions from smaller cities and districts.

In his view, players must get the right training from the very beginning. Instead of focusing only on elite players and international medals, the grassroots base of badminton has to be strengthened. He said that getting more and more children to play badminton and teaching them the right technique from the start should be the first priority.

Padukone cited a recent tournament for players under 15 and under 17. It drew about 4,000 entries. In the first five days of the ten-day tournament alone, as many as 22 courts were needed. He said this shows the growing popularity of badminton, but also brings out the challenge of providing good training on such a large scale.

He said plainly that the quality of training needs immediate attention. Work is under way, he said, but a great deal remains to be done.

Padukone also said the entire responsibility for a player's progress cannot be placed on the coach alone. After repeated defeats, some young players change their academy or coach. In his view, the habit of blaming the coach instead of looking at the weaknesses in one's own game is not right.

Finally, he expressed confidence that if the quality of grassroots training improves, the right facilities are available and players continue to receive guidance, the country can get top badminton players from smaller cities in the coming years.