Game on

After the Thomas Cup win, Sharmila Ravinder, owner of Bengaluru Lions Team of Grand Prix KBA Badminton League, is eager to see how the future of badminton unfolds in India.
Game on

BENGALURU: It was an emotional moment when the Indian men’s team brought in the win over 14-time champions, Indonesia, and lifted the Thomas Cup for the very first time. The win could not have been better timed for Sharmila Ravinder, who is the brand new co-owner of the Bengaluru Lions Team of Grand Prix KBA Badminton League.

A proud Bengalurean, Ravinder has always considered the city to have a huge hand in putting India on the badminton map. “If you look at the history of Bengaluru, Prakash Padukone has been a badminton legend. If you look at the win at the Thomas Cup, the men had been trained under Prakash Padukone, Vimal Kumar or Pullela Gopichand’s guidance. Interestingly, both Padukone and Kumar are from Bengaluru,” says Ravinder, adding that the Thomas Cup win is considered equivalent to India’s first cricket World Cup in 1983.

Ravinder, who has been an avid badminton lover, always wanted to own a Bengaluru team. “The training facilities in the city are top notch, maybe Hyderabad could compare. The interest for sport in the city is very high. Also, a number of clubs in the city have facilities for those interested in sports,” explains Ravinder, who owns lux Ayurvedic spa, Earthen Wellness Ayurveda. She has herself played for the Hennur Banaswadi Cosmopolitan Club and the Indian Gymkhana Club, and feels the best part about the sport is being able to just pick a racquet and start practice.

As the league sets to start in July, PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, has also bought a stake in the franchise. “Sindhu is an icon, and the only Indian to have won two consecutive Olympics medals. And to have her as a part of the team and for her to mentor the players is phenomenal,” says an excited Ravinder, whose husband, Sunil Kumar Dhareshwar is trustee of Infosys Foundation and is currently the senior vice president and global head of finance and infrastructure of Infosys.

She is now looking forward to the auctions for the league, which will happen soon, where she feels players like Chirag Shetty, Prannoy HS are going to be top picks. Owning a team franchise does not come easy. The criteria that the owners were looking out for in possible franchise owners were a passionate interest in the sport and also ability to promote and support the team. “You have to have the time, the energy, finances, and inclination to do this,” says Ravinder.

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