Leading badminton equipment brand YONEX on Saturday announced it will now manufacture high-quality graphite racquets in the country, a move which will bring the cost of full-body racquets down considerably.
The new graphite racquets were unveiled in the presence of Ben Yoneyama, Chairman of YONEX Japan, R Hanawa, President of YONEX India, Vikramaditya Dhar, Managing Director, Sunrise Sports India Pvt Ltd and India’s chief national coach Pullela Gopichand.
“Yonex Sunrise has made a huge difference to Indian badminton. Their support was instrumental in India winning the first Olympics Medal at 2012. YONEX has been an integral part of India’s success story in world badminton,” Gopichand said.
The growing popularity of the game has resulted in taking the demand for quality racquets sky high and the market share for badminton is seeing a 10-15 per cent growth.
The production of racquets in India will also ensure the product’s prices reduce by 20-30 per cent than the current market rates.
The Japanese company, which set up a factory in Bengaluru in 2016 under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, was only producing aluminium T-joint racquets, used for beginners who play for fitness or recreation purpose.
They aim to amplify the production of existing T-joint racquets from 1 million to 2.5-3 million per year.
“A lot of Indian players are performing really 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,” Yoneyama said.
