Young shuttlers trained by international badminton player shine at state tourney

Players being trained by Pradnya Gadre Chopra, an international badminton player and coach, have once again proven their mettle by outperforming their competitors during the recently concluded Indian Oil Punjab State Mini Sub-Junior (Under 11-13) Ranking Tournament in Jalandhar.

“In the recent past, in the sub-junior (Under 15-17) Punjab state ranking tournament, my players won four gold, one silver and six bronze medals. I am offer free coaching to these players; and it is my passion,” said Chopra.

Coach Chopra has represented India at various international event for nine years. She coached the Indian badminton team for four years. She won three national championships in her career and was a bronze medallist at the Asian Games in 2014. Her husband, Pranaav Jerry Chopra, is a Commonwealth gold medallist and now a leading businessman.

Pertinently, coach Chopra has been providing free services and these are yielding great results. Every year her students represent the state in national-level tournaments. Shastri Hall is the only place in Ludhiana where coaching is being provided for free (shuttles are being provided by parents). Most badminton academies charge around Rs 10,000 for a month, excluding the cost of shuttles.

Chopra thanked Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain for his valuable support to the players and to the Shastri Hall. Meanwhile, DC Jain, who also met the budding players, assured the coach that he would personally make sure that all the requirements of Shatri Hall, including the repair of lights and mats etc, were dealt with on an urgent basis for the benefit of the players.

Recently, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Aditya Dachalwal visited Shastri Hall and assured players that they would appoint two other coaches to assist Chopra.