Nagpur gets Gopichand-style academy from two illustrious students: Arundhati-Arun

Time of India

30-05-2025

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Nagpur: Come Sunday and Nagpur will inaugurate its first professional badminton training facility, following the model of India's most successful Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.
The state-of-the-art centre will cater to players across all skill levels.
The Arundhati Arun Badminton Academy (AABA) will commence operations at Besa, utilising the facilities of Nirmal Sports Academy, a venture of the Nayse family. The academy will provide training to beginners, amateurs and elite professionals under experienced coaches.
In a major first for Central India, the AABA is a premier professional badminton academy founded by former Indian badminton stars SR Arun Vishnu and Nagpur's very own Arundhati Pantawane.
This makes Arun and Arundhati the first Indian badminton couple to set up a professional academy in the region.
Addressing media persons on Thursday, the former National Games champion and world No. 49 Arundhati said, "The AABA is founded with a vision of strengthening India through badminton. With a mission to train athletes from grassroots to elite international levels, AABA offers world-class coaching, advanced facilities, and comprehensive training programmes."
Arun Vishnu, a five-time national mixed doubles champion and former world No.37, expressed enthusiasm about training regional talent. "We have shifted from Hyderabad to Nagpur to start our own set up. Our aim is to train the promising players from the region and give them a perfect platform to launch their career. I am sure in the years to come, you can see players from our academy shining at the national and international level," said Arun, who had served as Indian team doubles coach.
Both Arundhati and Arun gave the credit to Gopichand. Arundhati said, "We are what, we are today, is only because of Gopi sir. We thank him for the efforts he put in us and for making us successful. Its time to pass on the baton to the next generation."
Nirmal Sports Academy's Sachin Nayse said they signed a five-year deal with AABA for the benefit of local players. "We constructed a huge badminton hall keeping in mind the talented players of the region.
Earlier, top local players used to shift to major academies in Hyderabad or Bengaluru. But now they will get all the best facilities here. Both Arundhati and Arun are not only top badminton players of their playing days but have now also established themselves as leading coaches," said Nayse.
The facility features five hova badminton flooring on wooden surface, gymnasium, changing rooms, Yonex store, and spectator gallery for 600 people, suitable for national coaching camps and tournaments. The coaching team includes Rutvik Kiran, Tanmay Gawande, Atul Tamrakar, Akshaya Warang and Sanskriti Chabra. Ramesh Nayse and Sushant Nayse of Nirmal Sports Academy attended the announcement.