Bhubaneswar: More than three-and-a-half months after it was inaugurated at the Kalinga Stadium complex here, the badminton High Performance Centre (HPC) will start soon.
The HPC named ‘Shuttle by Dalmia Bharat’ was the result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Dalmia Group, Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy and the Odisha government.
“We will be starting next month.. we will have trials for selection,” National coach Gopichand told Sportstar about the HPC, which was opened by Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi on December 12 in the presence of Badminton Association of India president Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Around 50 students will get a chance to train on the eight courts inside the magnificent shuttle-shaped building.
“We’ll be looking at the age-group of around 10-14. Depending on the talent, we might go up or down,” Gopi informed.
“It’s just not a beautiful building, but an aspiration for a lot of youngsters, to thousands across the country. It’s a symbol of the badminton court and the shuttlecock that will help build champions,” the former All England Badminton Championship winner had said during the opening ceremony of HPC.
The seven-storeyed building is eco-friendly, having been made of low-carbon cement with rainwater harvesting facility for recharging groundwater.
The HPC, with boarding and lodging facilities for 50, has a seating arena which can accommodate 400 spectators.
The construction of HPC, which got delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will offer world-class training and coaching facility under the supervision and guidance of Gopichand.
