Arun Lakhani - A sportsman at heart and a business leader by mind

Often have we witnessed great athletes evolve in to brilliant business leaders .Jeffrey Immelt, CEO at GE played football for Dartmouth’s Ivy League squad, IBM’s CEO Samuel Palmisano was a star player on the Johns Hopkins football team and Meg Whitman, the CEO of Hewlett-Packard was the captain of her school’s swim team, played tennis, basketball and was part of Princeton’s squash and lacrosse teams.

The co-relation between sportsmanship, the competitive edge that athletics develop and the qualities of a top-notch business person has not been lost on the business world. With this in mind, it makes sense that the Managing Director of one of India’s largest infrastructure development companies, Mr. Arun Lakhani has made it his mission to promote, support and spearhead efforts towards making sports more accessible. Specifically, Badminton has been his choice of game and the state of Maharashtra his playground.

In October, 2015, Mr. Lakhani was unanimously appointed as the new president of the Maharashtra Badminton Association, taking over from Pradeep Gandhe who was captaining the organisation for a decade.

“My experience across the years with the Executive Committee and Planning Committee have given me a deep understanding of what is required of me and have also shaped my ambitions for creating better infrastructure for Badminton within Maharashtra,”,said Mr. Lakhani.

The MBA aims to bridge the gap between Indian Badminton standards and those that are upheld internationally. With more talented players entering the arena each year, there is a great need for well-equipped facilities, academies and trainers. Mr. Lakhani, also a visionary in the Public Private Partnership sector has headed several enormous projects for Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd., alongside the government. With his skills and experience at managing complex projects and accomplishing large scale developments, the MBA is confident of their choice

“The MBA has managed to spread the game to all corners of the state. Around 24 districts are active, which is a very positive sign for badminton. Still, we lack in providing facilities to the talented players. We don’t have enough infrastructures to accommodate more players. My focus will be on to develop the facilities and infrastructure,” said the new president while addressing a meet-the-press programmer, organized by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur.

Mr. Lakhani’s first and foremost priority will be retain players who choose to leave Maharashtra and train in other states such Hyderabad and Bangalore which offer them better opportunities. One of the first milestones would be to set up a world-class academy in Maharashtra. It’s already clear that the goals being set by the Maharashtra Badminton Association are not simply those of an organization but of an avid lover of the sport itself.

While speaking to Nagpur Today, Mr. Lakhani said, “I am not new to Badminton as a sportsman. In my college days, I held the racquet regularly and displayed my skills on the court. But now-a-days due to busy schedule at office and other activities of vital nature, the racquet has now been passed to my son. My son is now honing his skills at the court and I am enjoying his services and powerful shots from the bench as a dutiful parent.”

There will, however, be challenges along the way. The previous president Mr. Gandhe attempted at acquiring land for a long time and now this responsibility will lay in the hands of Mr.Lakhani. His dreams of turning Maharashtra in to a national Badminton hub greatly depend on his ties with the government.

In the short term, the MBA hopes to improve existing badminton complexes and encouraging more potential champions to join the sport. Problem solving at a district level is being approached with a pre-defined agenda and systems are being put in to place to ensure better communications.

It will be interesting to observe how a Badminton enthusiast and focused businessman such as Mr. Lakhani changes the face of the sport in Maharashtra as well as India.