HYDERABAD: The place that has churned out some of the biggest sporting icons in the country is all set to get a facelift. Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy will get six new courts that will have air-conditioning facilities. A sports science centre with a research and development wing will also be set up. A budget of Rs 30-35 crore has been allocated for these and a few other initiatives.

Players have welcomed the move, saying the upgrade will keep them in sync with shuttlers from other powerhouse nations. Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited announced on Monday that under its CSR programme, it will collaborate with Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation for the upgrade. Right now, there is no on-court air-conditioning for players who train at the academy. The area that currently serves as the parking lot has been earmarked for the new courts.

“The idea of having a world-class academy had been on my mind for a long time. Winters are not a problem. But I have seen players get exhausted very soon during summers due to no air-conditioning. It gets really hot,” Gopichand said.

This daily contacted some of the top shuttlers in the country to learn what they think about this. They said in unison that air-conditioned courts will help them prepare better for top-level events. It must be noted here that most tournaments in Asia are played on such courts, and they generate drift of varying degrees.

“It will be really helpful when big tournaments are around the corner. We will get more accustomed to drift. And due to the new courts, there will also be more space for everyone, since the number of youngsters joining the academy is going to increase,” World No 19 HS Prannoy said.

Bronze medallist at 2014 Commonwealth Games, RMV Gurusaidutt said this will be of particular benefit for youngsters. “They will get used to conditions that they will face very often. The more they face things like drift at an early age, the better. Most Asian tournaments are played with air-conditioning because of the weather. That’s not the case in Europe. Of course, the issue of heat will be dealt with easily.”

Besides developing infrastructure, there are other plans too. Through this collaboration, a coach certification programme will also be initiated to deal with the dearth of coaches. “There are about 10,000 youngsters who are currently playing the sport across all levels. But there are only a handful of trained coaches to handle them. We need about 2,000 coaches to properly train these youngsters,” said Gopichand.

The science centre will have personnel skilled in physiotherapy, psychiatry and nutrition for complete evaluation of an athlete’s performance. “We have had so many top-level players in the last decade. We need to document their development. It will help the future generation of shuttlers when they compare their performances with those of established players,” said Gopichand.The time-frame for all these initiatives to become operational has been pegged at three years.