Top shuttlers of Nagpur to be felicitated by district association on Thursday

NAGPUR: Acknowledging the spectacular performance of the city shuttlers in the last few months, the Nagpur District Badminton Association (NDBA) will felicitate them at the DNC Hall here on Thursday (July 28).

"We are honouring around 8-10 players who brought laurels to the city by excelling at the state, national and international tournaments on regular basis. We will give all the top achievers handsome cash prizes and a memento. We will finalize the names in a day or two," said NDBA secretary Mangesh Kashikar while addressing the media here on Monday.

In another big announcement, Kashikar said the NDBA is planning to hold State Sub-Junior Championship in association with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) in October or November.

"The season's last sub-junior state meet is scheduled to be held from October 4-8 at Ratnagiri but due to some problem it will be either postponed or cancelled. In such situation, we are ready to host the tournament in the city with the help of NMC. It will be named Mayor's Cup. We will request MBA president Arun Lakhani to allot us Ratnagiri tournament," he said.

He said NDBA is celebrating 50 years of its existence by holding a series of events like Corporate Cup and Inter-School badminton tournament. "In 2018, the NDBA is determined to host Senior Nationals for the first time in the city. We will definitely bid for the Nationals. Mankapur-based Divisional Sports Complex is well equipped to hold any major tournament with more than ten courts on their premises," said Kashikar.

NDBA president Kunda Vijaykar, joint secretary Naresh Chafekar, and members Sushant Pawar, Bhavna Agre, Bhavesh Deshmukh and Gurdeep Arora were present at the press conference.

This News Original Post on Time Of India

Nagpur intellectuals say, only healthy talks can resolve Indo-Pak dispute

Nagpur: The NSA level meeting between India and Pakistan appears to be in a mess as the latter’s insistence on inclusion of talks with Kashmiri separatists and Kashmir dispute into the discussion has not gone down with India. Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday said that Pakistan’s stand on the talks clearly violates the agreement signed between the two nations way back in 1998. Nagpur Today quizzed few senior journalists from the city and sought their take on resolving the long pending issues between the two nations

‘Diplomacy, a game of Chess’

Prakash Dubey, Group Editor, Dainik Bhaskar said only bilateral discussions can resolve the disputes between both the countries. Pakistan had resorted to such tactics in the past too.

However, noteworthy here is that the national advisors from both the countries have different orientation and backgrounds. India’s Ajit Dobhal belongs to Indian Intelligence Agency whereas his Pakistani counterpart is a politician. Both will be having confrontation for the first time.

Nothing can be said of how the two people from differing affiliations and backgrounds will match their discussion, he said. “Diplomacy is like a game of chess where beating is more important than defeating…Anyways the resolution only lies in discussion.”

Pradip MitraCan be Modi’s gameplan

Another senior journalist Pradeep Maitra said the dispute between India and Pakistan has turned too old and it is high time the two nations should come for the talks across the table. Mutual consent will only resolve the issues rather. Disrupting any talks in between and throwing it under the wraps is wrong.

Both the nations should call for Terror Regulatory Dialogue, he said, adding even if Kashmir is an issue it could be sorted out through talks. “We also need to see it from other perspective too, as it may the case that whatever we are seeing is just a strategy of Narendra Modi’s diplomacy.

The current scheme of things only tarnishes Pakistan’s image on international level, he quipped.

Pak’s internal politics a major hurdle Arun Lakhani

CMD of Orange City Waters and Vishwaraj Infrastructure Ltd., Arun Lakhani also advocates the importance of discussion in order to mend ties between the two nations. “Healthy discussions will be beneficial for both the countries, but Pakistan’s internal politics and instability has been creating hurdles in the way of negotiation.

Now Pakistan should look into the matter more seriously. Only the better bilateral ties will create conducive atmosphere for the healthy relations between both the countries. This will not only improve trade relations but also pave way for the development,” said Lakhani.

This New is Originally Posted on Nagpur Today

Arun Lakhani optimistic about raising badminton standard in Maharashtra

The newly-elected president of Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) Arun Lakhani is determined to bring many positive changes for the betterment of badminton in the state.

After being elected as the MBA president in Mumbai last week, Lakhani is slowly and steadily understanding the set-up to chalk out his plans for the future. The city businessman said it is an honour to lead the MBA and will strive hard to take the game to another level during his three-year tenure.

"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 infrastructure to accommodate more players. My focus will be on to develop the facilities and infrastructure," said Lakhani while addressing meet-the-press programme, organized by the Sports Journalists' Association of Nagpur, here on Monday. 

He was referring to the fact that, several players of Maharashtra train outside the state because lack of top class academy in the region.

"Although we are churning out quality players on regular basis, we failed to keep them in state. They move out to Hyderabad, Bangalore and other places as they have world-class academies. If we can provide them same facility here, there is no reason they migrate to other cities. We will make all-out efforts to start our own academy," said Lakhani.

The previous president Pradeep Gandhe tried hard to acquire land from government but to no avail. Lakhani said he will continue those efforts by using his good offices with the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also from Nagpur.

"We will again approach CM to get a substantial area for our dream project. We can build an academy on the lines of Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, which is a very successful model. We will also try to upgrade the existing indoor halls. We will speak with the government authorities to use the 'dead' sports complexes. MBA would like to operate and maintain the various divisional sports structures," said Lakhani, whose younger son Sarang has been training at Gopichand Academy since 2010.

He said the MBA would soon come with ten-point agenda for raising the standard of the game in the state. He said he is going to talk with the different district association officials to know their problems.

"In the next three years, we would ideally like to change the scenario completely. We would like to be bridge between players, parents and coaches. We want to be self-sufficient. We have already started the talks with them. We want game should spread in big way beyond the limited cities of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. Badminton can become the second best sport after cricket," said Lakhani.

He said he will try his best so that Nagpur can host a national-level badminton tournament next season at the Mankapur-based Divisional Sports Complex.

This New is Originally Posted on TIME OF INDIA.

New badminton hall in Koradi can host tournaments: Arun Lakhani

NAGPUR: Badminton in the rural areas near Koradi got the shot in the arm when a new indoor badminton stadium was inaugurated on the premises of Taywade College at Mahadula on Friday.

A big hall with a good 40-foot height, four excellent wooden courts and spacious arrangements for the spectators were some of the highlights of the new hall, which might prove a boon for the badminton enthusiasts and buddings shuttlers of the region.

Indian badminton players Arundhati Pantawane and Arun Vishnu were the special guests and inaugurated the hall in the presence of Saoner MLA Sunil Kedar, president of Maharashtra Badminton Association Arun Lakhani and former NIT Trustee Anant Gharad.

Impressed with the brilliant facilities at the venue, both Arundhati and Arun said that national level competitions can be held here. A district junior tournament got underway on Friday to mark the inauguration.

"I am really thrilled to see such a beautiful hall. I would love to play here someday if I get a chance," said Arun, a multiple-time national doubles champion.

National Games gold medallist Arundhati hoped that the hall serves its purpose of popularizing badminton in the rural areas.

"First they should hold state tournament here. I am sure this venue can hold national and international tournaments in future," said Arundhati.

College principal Dr Sharayou Taywade and president of Shri Sachchidanand Shikshan Sanstha Baban Taywade thanked Arundhati and Arun for accepting their request to open the hall.

"Arundhati and Arun are getting married tomorrow but for the love of badminton they came here and inaugurated the hall. It is proud for us that they liked the facilities," said Taywade. On this occasion, Arundhati and Arun were felicitated for their contribution in the field of national badminton.

Nagpur District Badminton Association president Kunda Vijaykar urged Taywade to provide the hall for the district tournaments in the coming season.

This New is Originally Posted on THE TIME OF INDIA