London Olympic Bronze medallist and former world number one badminton player Saina Nehwal and her husband Parupalli Kashyap, who is also an Arjuna Awardee for badminton, called upon Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and Chief Minister Ram Thakur on Sunday, in Shimla. Saina Nehwal expressed to the Governor that she was keen to open a Badminton Academy in the state.
Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister
Saina Nehwal conveyed to the Governor that presently, players from north India are traveling to Hyderabad or Bengaluru for coaching. She said that international level coaching should be provided in north India itself for players from that region.
Governor Dattatreya conveyed to Saina that youth of the state are very talented and that they have qualities of becoming good players. A press communique from the Rashtra Bhavan read, “On the occasion, the Governor said that Himachal Pradesh was a beautiful hilly state. The youth of the state were very talented and they have qualities of good players. Many times, they do not get proper platform due to the lack of facilities and if such talent gets higher-level facilities within the state, then surely they can illuminate the name of the country and the state at the international level.”
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Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap with Himachal Pradesh Governor
The Governor conveyed that he hopes to increase the number of players from Himachal Pradesh. He also added that the state government was providing many facilities to encourage sportspersons and that infrastructure development was taking place. The Governor conveyed to Saina that international players like her could help improve the possibilities for more sports infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh.
Parupalli Kashyap told the Governor that quite often, players travel abroad for training at high altitudes. In India, Himachal Pradesh could be the place for such training in India and hence, the state has plenty of possibilities.