Malaysian Grand Prix Champion P V Sindhu today launched the Indian Badminton League's School Programme initiative -- 'Shuttle Express' -- here.
The IBL is an initiative of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) with Sporty Solutionz as the commercial partner. Indus World School is the IBL School Partner for the Hyderabad leg.
The school championship in the city is being held under the aegis of the Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association on July 17-18 at the Pullela Gopichand Academy.
The city winners in the boys and girls singles categories will play the National Finals during the forthcoming IBL in August, a release from the organisers said.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindhu said: "I congratulate both Sporty Solutionz and BAI for launching a concept like 'Shuttle Express' and also to ensure that it sees the light of day."
"There was speculation on the kind of response that 'Shuttle Express' will garner, but witnessing the huge participation here and also in other cities, is a proof that the concept is a hit and an initiative, which should continue during all the editions of IBL."
The reason behind launching the 'Shuttle Express' is to boost the young talents at grassroot level, Ashish Chadha, CEO, Sporty Solutionz, said.
After its launch in Delhi and Mumbai, 'Shuttle Express' was kicked off in Hyderabad today, followed by Pune from July 17, Lucknow on July 19 and finally in Bangalore.
Each city will witness matches being played over two days and the National finals will be held in Mumbai, which will be shown on the television from August 28-31 as part of the IBL.
The 'Shuttle Express' will offer an incentive of Rs 10 lakh in prize money to the national winners in both the boys and girls singles events.
The finalists in both the categories will also be given an opportunity to train at the world-class Pullela Gopichand Academy, the release added.
