"When compared to past, a lot of improvements are witnessed in the field sports, of late. Organizations like Golden Sports Foundation, Olympic Gold Quest, GoSports are helping athletes a great deal," said Chirag Shetty, World No 8 badminton player and recipient of the Arjuna award.
Interacting with children and parents from various parts of Mangaluru at the Golden Shuttle Excellence Centre here, he said, "I was able to play doubles better than singles. However, the last Olympics was a better experience. We are aiming for the medal and we will definitely get it," he said.
"Cricket was my main focus earlier. Since I was into individual sports, I started badminton. From a young age, I was able to play doubles better. I played singles till I was 17-year-old. But after that, I completely stopped and concentrated on doubles," he said.
Students of Golden Shuttle Academy also had a chance to play a few shots with Chirag, on the occasion. Chirag also visited his hometown after eight years.
Pranjal Ghate, son of Late Sudhir P Ghate, said that the Golden Shuttle Sudhir Ghate Memorial Cup will be held shortly at the Golden Shuttle in Kottara. The event was followed by the launch of the Golden Shuttle Cup logo.