Inspite of not having a regular sponsor, Manora has successfully organized 70 tournaments. The objective of the academy is to give chance to young aspirants to play tournaments so that they can improve their skills
In 2007 Hindustan Times featured him as one of the “Spirit of Mumbai-Honoring Mumbai’s Unsung Heroes”
Objective of this page :
To share information on all Manora Badminton Tournaments a
nd other Badminton related news.
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Its founder,Mr. Manohar Godse, had a vision to help young & budding players by giving them a tournament. What started as a struggling enterprise some fourteen years back now organizes six tournaments a year on an average. And this despite the fact it still has no government backing or regular sponsor. The man behind the endeavour is Manohar Godse, former treasurer of the Greater Bombay Badminton Associaton (GBBA). In all his humility, Godse is yet to take any assistance from GBBA or any other state body.
“The fact that the calendar didn’t have many local level tournaments except the ones conducted by the state body prompted us to make an effort,” says Godse, himself a former doubles player and coach (He has coached the likes of former national champion Amol Shah, Vikrant Patwardhan and sports medicine expert Anant Joshi). Manora made a modest start (52 entries to be precise) in its first tournament in February 1997 organised at the Matunga Gymkhana. But by the next tournament at Shivaji Park the entries had almost doubled. It has been fourteen years since and the academy has successfully organized a whopping 70 tournaments. No mean feat considering the fact there was no instant appreciation. “People recognised our efforts only after we had conducted 25 tournaments,” reveals Godse. “But to have six tournaments in a year on an average takes a lot of concerted efforts,” he adds, seemingly satisfied with the fact people are now coming forward to help him in his pursuit. Manohar Godse’s career as a player was curtailed by the fact that he started playing late. But still he was quite a successful doubles player partnering the likes of Naresh Narvekar and former All England finalist Nandu Natekar, who also happened to be his idol. More important was his passion for the shuttle sport. In 1989, he went to participate in the veteran doubles at the All England Championships without a partner. “The intention was to watch Morten Frost play Yang Yang in the men’s singles final, recalls Godse. For the record he went on to partner a local and lost in the second round to a Malaysian combination. Helping Godse in his endeavour is his former doubles partner. “I’ve been with him (Manohar) since the start and will continue to help him in all my capacity. We’re much more than mere partners,” says Naresh Narvekar. But the greatest compliment comes from the great Nandu Natekar himself. “He is making a good effort for sure, and that too all by himself,” says the 1947 All England runner up. “While the state associations are too busy to think about this level of the game, he has managed to enthuse a lot of interest in the juniors,” adds the veteran who was probably India’s first real star in Indian badminton. Despite all the accolades pouring in, Godse is not all happy about his work and laments his failure to attract a sponsor on a regular basis. “This is not great work and is certainly not enough. But I’m trying to provide competitive badminton at the grassroot level. It’s better than not doing anything,” says the 71-year-old who continues to coach young players at the Willingdon club while looking forward to Manora’s next tournament.
