January, 2018: Girish Sharma, a champion para athlete, lived a dream this Premier Badminton League (PBL) when he faced champion badminton player Srikanth Kidambi at the center court in Bangalore. Vodafone PBL enabled Girish, who has taken para Olympic by storm, to showcase his racket skills to the lovers of shuttle play.
Last year, Vodafone had enabled child prodigy Vamsi Krishna to test his mettle against super star Carolina Marin.
Speaking about the initiative, Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone Idea Ltd. said, “Vodafone has always been associated with sporting platforms and believes that there is great talent in our country to give us exciting sporting moments. We have been using PBL as a platform to give chance to a promising talent to showcase their skills to the nation. We are extremely delighted to take para badminton player Girish Sharma to the center stage and arrange a face-off with world ranker Srikanth Kidambi. Vodafone salutes his courage and hard work that has brought him to this stage today.”
Sharing his excitement of participation in the league, Girish Sharma said, “I am honored and excited to be a part of Vodafone Premiere Badminton League. I am thankful to Vodafone for giving this tremendous opportunity and a great stage to perform. Para athletes across India need platform like these to showcase their talent. This further encourages us to prove that we are no less than any other player.”
Born in Nandwai village of Rajasthan, India, Girish Sharma is an embodiment of courage and grit. Despite losing one leg as a child, he has been playing badminton professionally and has never failed to shine at international events. He represents India both nationally and internationally in countries like, Israel, Dubai, Peru and Thailand. He has also participated in a world championship that was held in Korea in May 2009. Additionally, this sensational athlete has earned two gold medals at the national championship for the physically-challenged and two in Asia Champions 2008 (singles and doubles). He holds the world ranking of 27 in PBWF WH 2 Category.
Watch the rally between Girish and Srikant on Hotstar and on Vodafone Zoozoo page.
