Saina Nehwal, an international badminton player and former world number one player, on Sunday called on Himachal Governor Bandaru Dattatraya at Raj Bhavan.
Nehwal was accompanied by her husband Arjuna awardee Parupalli Kashyap, who is also an international badminton player.
During the meeting, Nehwal said that she is keen to open Badminton Academy in Himachal Pradesh.
She said that players from north India went to Hyderabad and Bangalore for coaching whereas they should get international level coaching in north India itself. Coaching is very important for level playing and coaches should be of an international level so that performance could be maintained, she added. Nehwal also praised the cricket stadium in Dharamshala.
She further said that most of the players are doing well at the national level but often lag behind at the international level.Parupalli Kashyap said that many players went abroad for training at high altitude whereas this training could be done in Himachal also as there are plenty of opportunities in the state.
On the occasion, the Governor said that Himachal Pradesh is a beautiful hilly state.
The youth of the state are very talented and they have qualities of good players. Many times they do not get proper platform due to lack of facilities and if such talent gets higher-level facilities within the state, then surely they can illuminate the name of the country and the state at the international level, said Dattatraya.
He said that today many players from Himachal are doing well internationally but, this number should be increased. The State Government is providing many facilities to encourage sportspersons and infrastructure development was being done for sports at the rural level so that players could emerge from the lower levels also, he said.
Dattatraya further said that with the help of international players like her, the possibilities for more sports infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh could be explored.
The Governor said that he has been a player himself, so he has a special passion for sports. He wants to develop more international level facilities for sports in Himachal Pradesh as well, he added.
Earlier, as per the Himachali tradition, the Governor honoured Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap with a Himachali cap, shawl and presented them Raj Bhavan picture as a memento.