Rahul Vyas, 12, of Bombay Gymkhana and Simran Singhi, 11, of Khar Gymkhana, emerged victorious in the boys and girls sections at the end of the two-day Tata Capital Super Shuttlers badminton tournament on Sunday.The reward for the young shuttlers is a two-week training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bangalore. The two were given the official letters by chief guest, former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar.Padukone played an exhibition match with the winners and said he wanted to give young shuttlers an opportunity. “We want to take the game to smaller towns where players don’t get much exposure. It is important to get the basics right,” Padukone said.Talking about China’s superpower status, the 1980 All England champion said: “China have a good system in place. They have ample training grounds and great equipment. But India are at par with Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong.”Vengsarkar said that “marketing the game” is very important. “Badminton could reach a different level if these kind of initiatives are taken regularly. These days, most administrators are politicians and that is curbing the development of sport.”

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