PANAJI
Former All-England badminton champion Prakash Padukone is in favour of each State having its own sports policy when it comes to job reservation for sports persons.
Padukone, who mentored the Indian team at the Paris Olympic said, “as sports is a State subject, each State must have its own policy with regards to job reservation for sportsmen and women.”
The ace badminton tactician was in Doha, capital of Qatar to launch the first overseas branch of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy.
When it was pointed that in small States like Goa, sports persons including footballers are complaining of lack of government jobs, he said giving jobs for people who have represented the State at the national and international level should not be a problem.
“Some Northern States including Haryana have well-defined policies when it comes to job reservation for sports persons.
“In smaller States like Goa, it should not be a problem for the State government to give jobs as it would be a small number,” he said.
Incidentally, Tanisha Crasto, who represented India at the Paris Olympics, trained at Padukone’s academy in Bengaluru for a brief period as a youngster.
“Yes, I do recall her training at our academy for the first time many years back,” he said about Crasto, who got her initial training in Dubai and thereafter shifted base to India and preferred to play under the Goa Badminton Association banner.
Asked if India Badminton Association has any programs to tap overseas talent taking into account Crasto’s journey from Dubai to Goa to the Paris Olympics, he said he is not aware of such programs.
“I know that there are many talented young players in the Middle East and the game is very popular with all age groups.”
Talking about tie up between Athlen Sports and Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy he said: “Talented boys and girls will get a chance to train at the Bengaluru academy and those who want to become professionals can stay in the residential academy.”
“We will not just train youngsters but will also have coaching courses tailor made for mature individuals,” he added.
Asked if he will be tying up with more people and setting up similar ventures across the Middle East which has a significant Indian population, he said “we will be doing so, provided we get the right people”.
Padukone said it is his first visit to Qatar and although he has been to other parts of the Middle East, somehow he missed visiting the country which hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
Padukone will also be the chief guest on the closing day of the Indian Sports Centre Indian Cup Open, Season 2 badminton tournament, an event, which is part of Indian Sports Centre’s four-month long Winter Khel Mahotsav.
The tournament has brought together over 500 participants from across Qatar and other countries, competing in more than 30 categories. This sporting event is a significant step in promoting badminton within the Indian community across all age groups.
