Doha, Qatar: Former All England Champion Pullela Gopichand has big plans to promote badminton in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and as part of the strategy, the Indian legend aims to open multiple academies in GCC countries under the Gulf Badminton Academy (GBA) umbrella.
GBA, which has Gopichand as a mentor, has kick started their grandeur GCC plans by partnering with Qatar-based Athlen Sports Events to launch Ahtlen Academy in Doha, with an aim to take badminton to further heights and to produce future champions.
"We are committed to providing extensive in-person training, online resources, and ongoing support to help launch and grow the Badminton sport in the Arab world and so glad to be launching in Qatar in partnership with Athlen sports" said Gopichand, Chairman of GBA.
“We believe in maintaining a long term vision of social responsibility, wherein we hope to maximize the potential of the expat communities in Qatar and mold them into important stakeholders of the Qatari sporting ecosystem,” said Azhar COO of Athlen Sports.
“The main engine behind the concept of GBA is Gopichand, who has incredible credentials not only as a great sportsman but also as a great coach, spending every moment of his career promoting the sport of badminton through his academy, which has produced world-class talent,” said Thoffik Valiyakath, Managing Director of GBA.
The Coaches of the Academy will get trained under Gopichand at his academy in Hyderabad. Senior coaches from Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA)will visit regularly to provide advanced skills. Students of GBA, Doha will have opportunity to train at GBA center of Excellence in Dubai as well as Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. Students with potential will also have opportunity to move to PGBA, Hyderabad.
