MUMBAI, Aug 2: For those itching to wield a badminton racquet but can't find a court to play on, Badminton for You (BFY) must come as a Godsend.Aspirant shuttlers - be it budding stars of tomorrow, those wishing to keep fit or simply those playing for the fun of it all must thank Rajeev Goenka and Varsha Shah who have responded ingeniously to a crying need in the city.One year after its inception, BFY's creators are proud of their product. "All we had in mind was to create an awareness for the sport in the city," says Varsha, who was invited to participate in the selection trials for the 1982 Asian Games.Rajeev Goenka does not have the pretension of creating champions overnight. "We are not making any such promise. Even the affluent people need a chance to play the game and as a badminton secretary of the Cricket Club of India, I received many requests to organise a camp. The CCI is restricted to members only, so we thought of hiring a venue for three days a week," says Goenka.What BFY is doingis providing an opportunity to people in Mumbai to play the sport three times a week at the University Pavilion. Anyone who can hold a racquet (or not) and with Rs 600 to spare (beginners), Rs 900 (basics) and Rs 1,600 (for three months) are welcome.The BFY explain in their brochure that they plan to promote badminton in the city in a step-wise manner starting with South Mumbai for which response has been encouraging."We have over 150 trainees with a handful of them being parents who probably could not play the game when they were young," says Goenka. BFY approached schools and colleges in South Mumbai and were encouraged by the flood of entries.Though BFY do not any immediate plans to move into the suburbs, they plan to hold more summer vacation camps like they did in April-May this year.It raises hopes of seeing a few badminton racquets in a maze of cricket bats around the city.
