Virar gets a badminton boost

Doubles player Chirag Shetty's coach Manish Hadkar opens Global Badminton Academy to encourage kids in Palghar district to take up the sport and excel

Virar will get a new badminton coaching academy from December 1. Manish Hadkar, who has coached World No. 11 doubles player Chirag Shetty,  Shlok Ramachandran, Simran Singhi, Arya Shetty, Jhanvi Jagtap, among many district and state level players at the Goregaon Sports Club since 2002 and was associated  with Uday Pawar Badminton Academy since 2008, has now opened his own academy in Virar (West). Hadkar has named his academy Global Badminton Academy and the new centre is inside the Samarth

International School, Global City. Hadkar told www.mid-day.com that the facility has three Badminton World Federation (BWF)-approved wood courts and a mini gym for strength and conditioning. "After training players for more than 27 years at different sports clubs, it was my dream to have my own academy. I am glad that my partner Rajesh Kasar got in touch [six months ago] and my dream is about to become a reality. We put in our own money to build the international standard courts and the mini gym for the players," said Hadkar.

An aerial view of the Global Badminton Academy in Virar

There will be separate batches for beginners, intermediate and advanced players. "Since we do not want parents to be burdened by the fees, we kept the coaching fees comparatively lower than other academies. I want to make champion players and this is just the first step towards it," Hadkar told www.mid-day.com.

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The mini gym at the Global Badminton Academy in Virar. Pic/Sundari Iyer

Talking about how it all started, Hadkar said: "Rajesh contacted me about having an academy purely to encourage students from Palghar district to play the sport. Our intentions were not money oriented but it was to get people to come and play."

Manish Hadkar can be contacted on 9834564373/9869223681, Rajesh Kasar on 9762320379/8668633745

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