{"id":106292,"date":"2025-10-09T12:24:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T06:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=106292"},"modified":"2025-10-09T12:24:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T06:54:52","slug":"goa-badminton-association-and-padukone-school-of-badminton-announce-landmark-collaboration-to-develop-grassroots-to-elite-badminton-ecosystem-in-goa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=106292","title":{"rendered":"Goa Badminton Association and Padukone School of Badminton announce Landmark Collaboration to develop Grassroots-to-Elite Badminton Ecosystem in Goa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Goa Khabar : In a landmark development for Goan sport, the Goa Badminton Association (GBA) announced a\u00a0strategic collaboration with the Padukone School of Badminton (PSB) \u2014 founded by India\u2019s badminton\u00a0legend Prakash Padukone \u2014 to create a structured, long-term badminton development ecosystem\u00a0in the State. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The announcement was made at a special press conference held in Panaji, attended by\u00a0members of the media, GBA Executive Committee officials, and representatives from PSB, including\u00a0T. Balan, Technical Director of the Padukone School of Badminton.<\/p>\n

Welcoming the gathering, GBA President Manoj Patil described the collaboration as a defining moment\u00a0for badminton in Goa, coinciding with the Association\u2019s 60th anniversary year. \u201cOver the past six\u00a0decades, GBA has nurtured badminton from humble beginnings into one of the State\u2019s most vibrant\u00a0sporting communities. Today, we take a decisive step forward \u2014 not just to organize tournaments, but\u00a0to build a sustainable system that consistently produces quality players, trained coaches, and efficient\u00a0officials,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Patil explained that the collaboration with PSB was founded on a shared vision \u2014 to\u00a0identify and nurture talent from the grassroots level, establish district academies, and eventually\u00a0create a State-level High Performance Centre where Goan players can train alongside the best in India.<\/p>\n

He added that the initiative would leverage Goa\u2019s world-class sports infrastructure and align with Chief\u00a0Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant\u2019s vision to make Goa a hub of sporting excellence.<\/p>\n

Prakash Padukone, addressing the media, expressed his appreciation for the initiative and lauded\u00a0GBA\u2019s professional and forward-thinking approach. \u201cIt is an honour for us to collaborate with the Goa\u00a0Badminton Association \u2014 our first-ever partnership with a State badminton association. Through this\u00a0tie-up, we aim to build a complete ecosystem from the grassroots to the elite level, starting from\u00a0schools and panchayats, moving up to districts and the State,\u201d<\/p>\n

Padukone said. He outlined PSB\u2019s\u00a0nationwide grassroots presence, with over 75 centres across India, and explained that PSB would bring\u00a0its expertise in talent identification, coach education, and program design to the partnership. \u201cWe will\u00a0help train PT teachers and coaches in Goa, provide them with certification, and ensure that the right\u00a0fundamentals are taught at every level. Our approach will be gradual but consistent, ensuring that\u00a0children are exposed to the sport early and given proper guidance to progress,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Responding to media questions, Padukone praised Goa\u2019s infrastructure, calling it \u201cone of the best\u00a0among smaller states in India.\u201d He emphasized that the key now was to channel this infrastructure\u00a0toward player development. \u201cGoa has the facilities and the passion \u2014 now it needs the structure. With\u00a0the support of GBA, the Sports Authority of Goa, and the Government, I am confident this model will\u00a0not only produce champions here but could become a blueprint for other states,\u201d he remarked. He\u00a0also highlighted the PSB\u2019s Coach Education and Certification Program, which has already certified over\u00a01,000 coaches at the grassroots level, and announced plans to upgrade Goan coaches through training\u00a0programs in both Goa and Bengaluru. \u201cUltimately, the goal is to reverse the trend of Goan players\u00a0leaving the State for better training \u2014 and instead, create an academy here that attracts players from\u00a0all over India,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

In his address, GBA President Manoj Patil reiterated GBA\u2019s long-term vision. \u201cThis collaboration is not\u00a0just about training players \u2014 it is about creating a badminton culture in every Goan village and school.<\/p>\n

We will be launching a \u2018Shuttle Time\u2019 initiative to introduce badminton in schools, giving every child\u00a0the chance to experience the sport. From there, we will identify talent, nurture them through district\u00a0and State programs, and support them through structured pathways. With PSB\u2019s technical guidance, we are confident that this model will make Goa one of India\u2019s most vibrant badminton hubs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Patil also noted that GBA is actively seeking CSR partnerships and government collaboration to ensure sustained financial support for the project.<\/p>\n

GBA Secretary Praveen Shenoy provided the operational roadmap of the collaboration. \u201cAn administrative structure will be set up with a Project Manager nominated by PSB to oversee implementation. PSB will design and deliver all technical and capacity-building programs, while GBA will manage infrastructure access, tournament governance, and CSR fund generation,\u201d Shenoy explained. The grassroots program will commence within the next 30 to 45 days, leveraging existing school and panchayat infrastructure through the use of portable badminton kits. Training will be conducted both indoors and outdoors to maximize outreach. \u201cAs players progress, we will introduce district and State-level programs, advanced player training, and coach upskilling workshops.<\/p>\n

Technology, including AI-based performance analysis, will also be integrated into advanced programs,\u201d he added. Shenoy indicated that the long-term vision of the collaboration is to work towards establishing a full-fledged State Badminton Academy in Goa in the coming years, which could be jointly supported by GBA, PSB, and the Sports Authority of Goa.<\/p>\n

The event concluded with an expression of mutual optimism and gratitude. Both organizations reaffirmed their commitment to nurturing Goan badminton talent and building a model of sporting excellence that could inspire similar collaborations across India. The occasion was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Goa Badminton Association and\u00a0Prakash Padukone, Director of the Padukone School of Badminton \u2014 a defining moment in the journey of Goan badminton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goa Khabar : In a landmark development for Goan sport, the Goa Badminton Association (GBA) announced a\u00a0strategic collaboration with the Padukone School of Badminton (PSB) \u2014 founded by India\u2019s badminton\u00a0legend Prakash Padukone \u2014 to create a structured, long-term badminton development ecosystem\u00a0in the State. The announcement was made at a special press conference held in Panaji, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25169,"featured_media":106293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155,6],"tags":[3794],"class_list":["post-106292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-155","category-6","tag-featured"],"read":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=106292"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106294,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106292\/revisions\/106294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/106293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}