Celebrating the 70th birthday of her father and badminton legend Prakash Padukone, Bollywood actor and former national-level badminton player Deepika Padukone announced a major expansion of the Padukone School of Badminton (PSB).

Launched last year, the school has already established 75 coaching centers in 18 Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur, Pune, Mysuru, and Dehradun. The initiative aims to make quality badminton training accessible across the country, with goals of expanding to 100 centers by the end of 2025 and 250 by 2027.

In an Instagram post that featured a heartfelt photo with her father, Deepika expressed admiration for Prakash Padukone’s lifelong dedication to badminton, stating, “His love and commitment to the sport continue to inspire generations.” She emphasized that PSB is focused on building a “healthier, more focused, and sport-minded” generation by offering inclusive opportunities in badminton.

The school collaborates with local schools and facilities to operate its training centers and currently runs three high-performance centers in Bengaluru. Over 100 certified coaches are already part of the program, aiming to nurture grassroots talent with structured, affordable coaching.

“Badminton has shaped my life in many ways,” Deepika noted. “With PSB, we want to introduce the transformative power of sport to every community.”

Her husband, actor Ranveer Singh, responded to the announcement with heart and smiley emojis on social media, while fans and supporters flooded platforms like X with messages of appreciation for PSB’s swift growth and vision for reshaping India’s sports landscape.

The initiative is deeply rooted in Prakash Padukone’s legacy. In 1994, he founded one of India’s first badminton academies, which produced top players including Pullela Gopichand. Now, with PSB, the Padukone family continues to build on that legacy, aiming to foster a widespread culture of sport and help young Indians achieve excellence in badminton.

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