Gopichand, coaches to evaluate 26 kids

It is a grassroots-level initiative to identify budding shuttlers for the next round of evaluation of the IDBI Federal Quest For Excellence #YoungChamps badminton programme.

India's chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand at his academy in Hyderabad.

IDBI Federal Life Insurance announced the names of the 26 children shortlisted to play in front of Pullela Gopichand and his team of coaches at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, for the next round of evaluation of the IDBI Federal Quest For Excellence #YoungChamps badminton programme.

The kids are between 7-11 years and belong to different parts of the country. The evaluation will be held on April 21 at the academy based on a number of parameters such as on-court performance, fitness, attitude, agility and footwork. After the process, selected kids will receive the opportunity to undergo further intensive training under Gopichand and team.

It is a grassroots-level initiative to identify budding badminton players. Launched in December last year, the initiative witnessed an overwhelming response in the first edition with over 1,000 video entries received from across India, as well as from Indians settled in UAE, Singapore and Qatar.

List of players: Bhavesh Reddy (Telangana), T T Gnana Dattu, Showrya Kiran, R.Srinivasulu, Anumula Srivally, D. Anudeep, Charan Simha Reddy (all Hyderabad), Vansh Dev, Anwesha Gowda (New Delhi), Yashwi Patel (Pune) , Divyam Kejriwal (Balangir), Noel Cherian Jacob (Thiruvananthapuram), S Murari Venkat (Anantapuram), Pawan S (Shimoga), Naisha Kaur Bhatoye (Mumbai), Tushit Kejriwal (Sambalpur), Vedant Chauhan (Goa), Priyanshi Rathod (Vadodara), Abhinav Garg (Bengaluru), Priyanshee Pal (Kolkata), M Dinesh (Pondicherry), Jennifer Priya (Bhagalpur), S. Sai Praavin (Coimbatore), Sakshi Prakash (Dubai), Kunal Patel (Ahmedabad) and Riyan Malhan (Dubai).