New Delhi: Badminton equipment brand Yonex on Saturday announced that it will start manufacturing high-quality graphite racquets in India. This will bring down the cost of these racquets by 20-30 per cent. Indian players, who are performing well in big events for the last several years, had to previously buy these racquets abroad or import them at a high cost.
The graphite racquets were unveiled in the presence of Ben Yoneyama, chairman of Yonex Japan, R Hanawa, president of Yonex India, Vikramaditya Dhar, managing director of Sunrise Sports India Pvt Ltd and chief national coach Pullela Gopichand.
The Japanese company, which set up a factory in Bengaluru in 2016, was only producing aluminium T-joint racquets, used by beginners and those who play for fitness or recreation purposes. They aim to amplify the production of T-joint racquets from 1 million to 2.5-3 million per year.
“India is a big market for badminton with its growing economy and interest in the sport. A lot of Indian players are performing well on the world stage, encouraging more to take up the sport. We want to cater to that audience and provide the highest Japanese quality equipment to further the sport’s development,” said Yoneyama.
Gopichand lauded the move. “Yonex Sunrise has made a huge difference to Indian badminton, whether it was in 2008 when India reached the quarterfinals at the Olympics or the fantastic performance at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Their support was instrumental in India winning the first Olympic medal at 2012. Yonex has been an integral part of India’s success story in world badminton,” he said.
Dhar of Sunrise Sports spoke of the positives. “We want to give better quality racquets to our customers who are looking for full body graphite racquets at affordable prices. These are for players at a higher level, playing at academies and starting at a competitive level. With racquets made in India, consumers need not worry about import costs, fluctuating exchange rates.”