Amid the controversy surrounding her upcoming movie “Spirit”, Bollywood star Deepika Padukone has announced the expansion of “Padukone School of Badminton”. The Om Shanti Om star made the announcement to celebrate her father, legendary badminton player Prakash Padukone’s 70th birthday.
Padukone School of Badminton is expanding to 75 centres a year, targeting 250 centres by 2027 to champion the cause of ‘badminton for all’. The Badminton School has already established over 75 grassroots coaching centres across 18 Indian cities – including Bengaluru, NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur, Pune, Nashik, Mysuru, Panipat, Dehradun, Udaipur, Coimbatore, Sangli, and Surat – within its first year of operations.
Announcing the news on Instagram, Deepika wrote,” As someone who grew up playing badminton, I’ve experienced firsthand how much this sport can shape one’s life – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Through Padukone School of Badminton(PSB), we hope to bring the joy and discipline of Badminton to people from all walks of life, and build a generation that is healthier, more focused, and inspired by sport”.
View this post on Instagram
Prakash Padukone, Padma Shri awardee & PSB’s Mentor & Advisor, added, “Sport is an integral part of growing up – it instils discipline, resilience, and a winning mindset that extends well beyond the court. With PSB, our goal is to make quality coaching accessible and affordable, nurture talent from the grassroots, and set a strong foundation for the future of Indian badminton.”
Padukone School of Badminton, aka PSB, partners with schools, institutions and existing venues to set up grassroots academies that feed into its flagship Training Program at the 3 High-Performance Centres of Excellence in Bengaluru. With over 100 coaches trained under a structured certification program and access to cutting-edge facilities, PSB’s coaching system ensures consistency, quality, and the ability to identify and nurture future champions.
On the work front, Deepika Padukone will be next seen in Atlee’s latest venture, headlined by Allu Arjun, tentatively titled AA22xA6. Besides this pan-India film, Deepika will feature in the second part of Prabhas’ starrer Kalki 2898 AD, Shah Rukh Khan’s mega-ensemble King and YRF’s Tiger vs Pathaan.
We, as the team at God of Sports, appreciate this initiative and strongly align with the thought leadership and goals we strive for—not just as equipment sellers, but as a bridge between players and the game.
