Prashanth Purushothaman was 33 years old when he picked up a badminton racket for the first time and immediately fell in love with the sport.
It began as a hobby, serving as a way to exercise and improve overall fitness.
Soon after he began playing consistently, the sport caught the eye of his young daughter.
When he goes around to play and watch his son, he realizes that there is a lack of real badminton facilities in the area.
So, he decided to take matters into his own hands and launched Shuttlepro Badminton on Jamieson Parkway.
“That’s how it all started,” Purushothaman said.
“When I started going to these clubs, I saw different needs of different people. As a parent, when I saw places to visit in Ontario, I thought, why can’t I start my own club? I’ve always had a business mindset.”
The six court facility opened last October and has been growing ever since.
Purushothaman said interest in the sport is growing locally and has been helped by the success of Canadian Olympians Brian Young and Michelle Le in recent years.
Joining Purushothaman in the business are Jitin Suresh and John Carlo L. Balbuna, both of whom have experience at various levels in the sport.
Part of their success is the focus on player development, with small instructional groups designed to ensure athletes receive the attention they deserve.
“I decided that there was no point in having more than four children in a class,” said Purushothaman.
“If the coach doesn’t fix them right away, it becomes muscle memory. Team sports are different, but in badminton you need the coach’s full attention.”
Suresh played at the Indian national level before enrolling to play at Fanshawe College and has since focused on helping young players achieve their goals.
He feels that Cambridge is a good place because of the current lack of badminton academies.
“They have clubs where they take court and play,” Suresh said of how some clubs operate.
“When I started coaching badminton in the last few years, I only had Indian and Chinese kids when I worked at the Burlington club. But now I have a lot of Canadian students who want to try a different sport.”
Suresh says badminton is the top sport in India behind cricket and field hockey.
It feels like the opportunity to grow the game in Canada is endless for avid gamers and those who want to play for fun.
“If the growth continues, I believe it will be a career for young athletes in the future, so they should be able to earn money,” he said.
“Badminton is different. If you are healthy and trained, you can play for a long time.”