By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 19 Aug: The Uttarakhand State Badminton Association felicitated Olympian Badminton player Lakshya Sen at a function organised at the Tussat Function Centre near Parade Ground here on Sunday.
On this occasion, Chairperson of the Association and currently Dean, College of Technology, GBPUAT, Prof Dr Alaknanda Ashok and former President of the Association and former DGP Uttarakhand, Ashok Kumar presented a memento to Sen.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairperson Dr Alaknanda Ashok asserted that a large number of people including the parents, colleagues, the coaches and the association play a very crucial role in the success of a player at the global level. She reminded that Lakshya Sen’s father, DK Sen, is a top quality coach in Badminton, while his mother gave up her career to support the growth of Lakshya Sen as a top quality player. She further reminded that Lakshya Sen’s grandfather was also a top level badminton player and it was his dream to see Lakshya playing in global competitions. She said that Lakshya Sen had a good grounding as a player under the guidance of his father and, later, he honed his skills also at Prakash Padukone Academy under the tutelage of Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar. She also noted that, this time, Sen missed a medal at the Olympics in Paris, but he has a great future ahead and hopefully will bring more glory to the state and the country in the future.
Former President of the Association, Ashok Kumar reminded that Dehradun and the state did not have much infrastructure related to Badminton in the past. However, post the setting up of the Uttarakhand State Badminton Association, sincere efforts were made not only to improve the facilities here but also to hold state level, national level competitions and training camps. Several top national and international coaches were engaged to train the budding players. He added that, as a result, the state has begun to produce good badminton players and that he is proud to have been part of this journey.
Secretary of the Association, BS Mankoti also expressed happiness that as a result of the collective efforts of the player, his family and coaches and the association, Sen could bring glory to the state and wished him greater successes in future.
On this occasion, International Badminton player Kuhu Garg, who is currently a trainee IPS officer, not only greeted Sen but also wished him a great future ahead, noting that Sen has shown to everyone that with persistent efforts and hard work, one can achieve even the seemingly challenging targets in life.
Sen, on this occasion, not only freely mingled with the local players and members of the Association but also expressed gratitude for all the support provided by the Association through his career and for this felicitation ceremony. He reminded that he participated in several tournaments in the state played under the aegis of the Association which helped to groom him as a better player.
On this occasion, DK Sen, Nirmala Sen, Sethi, Ashutosh, Rachit (Haridwar Association), Punita Nagalia, Patet, Rakesh Dobhal, Harish Joshi, SM Panchhi, Dhirendra Bahuguna, GS Budhiyal, AS Johar, Vikki Rana, Anuj Bhaskar, Shiv Prasad and Manoj Joshi were among those present.
