KOCHI: The Ernakulam district which has produced stalwart shuttlers like Marcos Bristow and Jaison Xavier and shaped the careers of Sanave K Thomas and Roopesh Kumar has always been a steady supplier of medal-winners to the country. And, over the last couple of years, badminton’s popularity has seen a phenomenal rise in the district.
The 14th All-India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament, which got underway at the Regional Sports Centre at Kadavanthra on Tuesday, offers some insights into how the sport has flourished.Of the 700 contestants in the tournament from across the country, more than half are from Kerala, of which the majority are from Ernakulam, said tournament’s match controller Rajeev P R. Arathy Sarah Sunil, who was part of the bronze-medal winning Indian team for the Uber Cup this year, is a product of Ernakulam. The two other Malayalees in the team - Aparna Balan and P C Thulasi - perfected their skills at the Regional Sports Centre in Kochi.
The last year’s Under-19, U-17 and U-16 team for the Asian Badminton Championship had six Malayalees and all of them were from Ernakulam. Arjun M R, who was part of the historic doubles team that entered into the quarterfinal of the World Junior Championship this year, is also from the district.
Moreover, at least three players from Ernakulam have been representing India every year since 2009, said RSC chief coach (badminton) M J Mohanachandran. The number rose to six by 2013 and so far this year, three players have already represented the country, he added. According to Kerala Badminton (Shuttle) Association joint secretary R Shekhar, the rise in popularity of badminton in Ernakulam is due to the involvement of medal-winning national players in coaching and related activities.
“Several former national players have started their own badminton academies or clubs in the district and are drawing more students year after year. This has developed a healthy badminton culture in the district,” Shekhar said.There are around 12 badminton academies in the district, including the Regional Sports Centre, Khel Academy, FACT Udyogamandal Club and Aneesh Badminton Academy.
FACT club president Sisupalan said: “there has been an increase in the popularity of the sport. I think is is mostly because of the game’s increased familiarity among youngsters due to availability of more training facilities.”