Rock The Talk With Arvind Bhat

RJ Rohit caught up with former badminton player/ badminton coach, Arvind Bhat.

Arvind kickstarted his career in a youth centre in 1991, when he was 11 years old. He demonstrated his ability at an early age by winning numerous age group events at the state level. From 1994 to 1997, he trained at Sadashivanagar Club. From 1997 to 2015, he was a member of the Karnataka Badminton Association where he got his training.

In 2001, he won the Senior State Championships. Selectors praised his performance at the state and national levels in 2001-2002, and he was chosen for the Indian team in 2002. He also received calls from German clubs to participate in league matches there. He established a base in Europe for the next 12 years, spending 3–5 months there every year. Arvind represented India for 13 years, appearing in all major international tournaments and touring for over 8–9 months each year.

In the year 2008, Arvind Bhat won the national championships in India for the first time. He had already reached the finals four times in the previous seven years. Then, in 2011, he won the title by defeating Kashyap P in one of the finest Championship finals ever.

He has won seven international titles, including the Scottish Open in 2004, the Czech International in 2007 and the German Open in 2014. He won the German team championships in 2008 with the 1. BC Bischmisheim. In over 100 international events, he has represented India.

His career highlight was winning the German Open in 2014. At the age of 35, he achieved his best result. This is most likely an extremely rare occurrence in the sport of badminton. His best World rating was 20, which he achieved in September 2009.

Arvind is the co-founder and principal coach of Bangalore’s Level Up Badminton Academy, which he co-founded with his childhood friend Prashanth. In the premier badminton league, he is currently a co-owner and head coach of the Bengaluru Raptors. He is a national selector for the Indian junior team and one of the senior team’s coaches.

RJ Rohit had a chat with Arvind Bhat about the future of badminton in India and much more. Check it out below!

—Silviya.Y

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