Vodafone helps child prodigy play against Carolina Marin

Vodafone, the title sponsor for the just concluded Vodafone Premium Badminton league, made a young boy’s dream come true and how! Vamsi Krishna, a talented badminton player, got the opportunity of a lifetime when he played against Olympic Champion and World No 4 Carolina Marin of Spain on centre court in Hyderabad. The rally aired on the 12^th of January on TV.

Vamsi Krishna is no ordinary badminton player himself. At the age of 14 years, he has won two national gold medals in the Under 13 doubles category and a bronze in the singles. He has also defeated the son of Pullela Gopichand to win one of the gold medals.

His has been a journey of struggle and sacrifice to reach the level he has. Vamsi was discovered by his current coach Goverdhan Reddy when he was working as a shuttlecock feeder. Vamsi’s father, a bus driver and part-time badminton coach, could not afford anything more than the rudimentary training he was giving his son. To ensure his ward lacks nothing, Coach Reddy even set up a crowdfunding initiative to help meet some of the expenses incurred for Vamsi’s training.

The boy’s talent was obvious and within a year of shifting to coach Reddy’s academy in Secunderabad, from his hometown of Eluru, Vamsi has already made big strides at the national level.

The hard work and sacrifice of Vamsi, his father and his coach has not gone unnoticed. Vodafone helped Vamsi to play against one of the best players in the badminton world. Vamsi, it goes without saying was absolutely over the moon at this wonderful opportunity.

After his match with Carolina Marin, he said: “I have been following Carolina Marin’s game on television, particularly during the ongoing Vodafone Premier Badminton League. I thank Vodafone for providing an opportunity for an amateur like me to play against the Super Champion. Carolina is one of the quickest players and it was like a dream come true to share the court with an inspiring champion.”

Given the trajectory of Vamsi’s career, it won’t be long before we see him represent his country in international games.

This is a partnered post.