Tamil Nadu State Under 19 Badminton Championship organized by Coimbatore Badminton Association is underway at RAK’s Academy in Peelamedu.

A press conference was held on Wednesday at RAK’s Pallikoodam to brief the championship that is organized under the aegis of Tamil Nadu Badminton Association.

Ve.Arunachallam, Executive Committee Member, Badminton Association of India and General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Badminton Association addressed the Press and Media along with Swetha Krishnamurthy, Founder, RAK’s Pallikoodam.

Ve.Arunachallam conveyed that this championship is a 5-day event and it has received over 400 entries from 30+ districts of Tamil Nadu. It is held in 5 categories- Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. The winners of this championship will represent Tamil Nadu in the Nationals.

The whole event is sponsored by Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI), a Government of India enterprise under Ministry of Defence. This is the first time AVANI has supported a sports event in the country.

The prize money would be Rs.3 lakhs and that would be divided and presented to 64 players ranging from the winners to the Quarter-finals candidate.

When reporters pointed about the lack of public facilities for badminton under Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) in Coimbatore district, Swetha Krishnamurthy said that Coimbatore Badminton Association and similar associations for various sports including Tennis in Coimbatore met the Sports Minister and higher officials 2 months ago to submit their proposal for such facilities in the district.

“We had asked for a minimum of 15 badminton courts with facilities. They have allocated a land near the (upcoming) cricket stadium and they said they would give us an option also,” Ms.Swetha said.

It was shared that few reputed companies have come forward to extend support to Coimbatore’s aspirations for common badminton facilities through their CSR funds.