150 badminton players raise £6,000 in charity fundraiser

On Sunday 17 November, over 150 keen badminton players from throughout the South West and South Wales converged on Thornbury Leisure Centre to enjoy a whole day of competition… and raise vital funds for a local stroke charity.

 The Badminton tournament on behalf of Bristol After Stroke is now in its seventh year, having raised almost £25,000 in that time. It is organised by Dr Praveen Kumar, an Associate Professor in Stroke Rehabilitation at the University of the West of England who works very closely with the charity and helps run some of its rehabilitation courses.

"The event beings together two of my passions,” he says, “and we have seen it grow from just a dozen or so teams from my own club taking part in the very first tournament ­­to men and women from many miles around coming to compete.

“Some 78 teams took part – a total of 156 people.  Ashvath, a 9-year-old boy, participated in the tournament, but also made cupcakes for sale and raised £115 for the charity. 
 
“Including this, plus through registrations and donations made from friends and families from UK, USA, UAE, India on the Justgiving page, we raised nearly £5000 (our target) plus Gift aid nearly £1000.  The grand total was £6,000.”

Chair of Bristol After Stroke, Mike Hill, said: “We are so grateful to all of those who have made this one of our biggest regular fundraisers, but especially to Praveen. The money raised will be funding services for stroke-affected people and their carers, helping them on the recovery journey.”

 Did you know that:

While the modern version of the game was first played by British Army officers in India, its roots go much further back, with versions being played in ancient Greece, India, China and Egypt.

India had its own version, called “Poona” or “Poonah”, and it is thought that this inspired British officers stationed in the town of Poona to create their own version.

There are strong West Country links to the sport: the official rules were established in the late 19th century by J. H. E. Hart of the Bath Badminton Club, who wrote the very first set of rules for Badminton in 1873, and these are the foundation for the way the game is played today.

Its name also derives from the Gloucestershire estate owned by The Duke of Beaufort.
Badminton first became an Olympic sport in 1992.
 

Find out more on: https://justgiving.com/page/praveen-kumar-1726089166243?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fpraveen-kumar-1726089166243&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share