Ludhiana: As an initiative to enhance sports infrastructure in the city, the Shastri badminton hall at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana, has been renovated with the required facilities. As a part of this renovation project, three new honed BWF-approved synthetic badminton mats have been installed at the courts for the athletes. The total estimated cost of the renovation of this project is around Rs 18-20 lakh, regarding which the funding grant was provided by the district administration and Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain, IAS, as an effort to promote sports and encourage more athletes to experience better training facilities in the district.Along with these new mats, the Shastri badminton hall will also have other facilities such as a gym area for the athletes to warm up before the games within the hall, changing rooms for the athletes, washrooms for convenience, and new exhaust fans considering the weather conditions. The District Sports Officer (DSO) confirmed that these mats are replaced after ten to twelve years, and the athletes who practice here daily had expressed their concerns about the same.Kuldeep Chugh, District Sports Officer, while talking to the TOI said, “The installation of three new badminton synthetic court mats at Shastri Badminton Hall is a significant development that has been made possible with the generous support of Himanshu Jain (IAS), Deputy Commissioner Ludhiana, who recently provided Rs 18 lakh towards the renovation of the hall and the replacement of the existing courts.”“As part of this initiative, all three courts have now been upgraded with Yonex BWF-approved synthetic mats at a cost of around 8 lakh rupees, bringing the facility up to international standards, and the rest of the civil work is expected to be completed by three weeks with all the facilities.”
