JBC Boot Camp – a YouTube tutorial program to promote Badminton in grassroots level, receives a humongous response with 12,000+ subscribers and 2.2 million+ views in just 2 months.

Delhi, September 10, 2019: PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife), among the top 10 private life insurance companies of India (fiscal 2019, Source - CRISIL), today concluded the fifth edition of PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship with a grand award ceremony at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium (Delhi). The winners and runners-up from 9,500+ participants across 10 cities of India in the five age categories: U-9, U-11, U-13, U-15 and U-17, were felicitated. The event also marked the rising popularity of JBC Boot Camp – a tailor-made YouTube channel, hosting tutorial programs to help aspiring badminton talents to grow and enhance their skills through online lessons on techniques, tips and tricks from the Badminton experts, to excel in the game. JBC Boot Camp was launched two months back along with the launch of PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship – Season 5, in Hyderabad. 

The winners were felicitated by P.V Sindhu, BWF World Champion, Olympic Medallist and the brand ambassador of PNB MetLife, Shri Sunil Mehta, MD & CEO, Punjab National Bank and Ashish Kumar Srivastava, MD & CEO, PNB MetLife.

As a part of its endeavour to promote Badminton, PNB MetLife has been organizing Junior Badminton Championship for the fifth year in a row. Year on year, there has been a rising popularity of this event and the fifth season of PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship received participation from 9,500+ children from across the 10 cities, surpassing the previous year’s count of 8500. To further allow the aspiring shuttlers an access to learn finer techniques of the game from the best in the industry, PNB MetLife launched JBC Boot Camp - a YouTube channel, during the launch of JBC 5. Since its launch, JBC Boot Camp has received a huge acceptance from the badminton enthusiasts across the country with 12,000+ subscribers and 2.2 million+ views in a span of just 2 months. The success of JBC Boot Camp, featuring tutorial videos by Badminton experts such as P.V. Sindhu, U. Vimal Kumar, Vijay Lancy and Anup Sridhar, affirms the popularity of the sport and a hunger to learn among the young badminton community.

With an aim to take Badminton to grassroots, PNB MetLife has been awarding annual scholarships to underprivileged children to pursue the sport of Badminton. This year, such annual scholarships were awarded to 32 underprivileged children. These 32 children were selected basis their performance in JBC 5 tournament, from the lot of 100 children, whom PNB MetLife had trained in association with their CSR partner - Child Rights & You (CRY). The annual scholarships will cover the cost of professional training, equipment, nutrition, and other related expenses to the sport.

P.V. Sindhu, BWF World Champion, Olympic Medallist and the brand ambassador of PNB MetLife , said applauding the young champions, “The huge numbers of participants from every corner of the Country, stands testimony to the admiration that this sport has earned. The sheer quality of game-play and technique showcased by these young shuttlers prove that the Country is bubbling with talents, which need to be harnessed to drive India as a world leader in the sport. I am extremely happy to be associated with PNB MetLife who has not only provided a platform for the young badminton aspirants to showcase their talent, but also has created a holistic ecosystem for the talented shuttlers through JBC Boot Camp, that aims to sharpen the finer techniques of the game through online coaching and grooming. Badminton has come a long way to attain the status that it has today, and I am sure that gifted badminton players such as these will take it to new heights.”

Congratulating the winners of the Championship, Ashish Kumar Srivastava, MD & CEO, PNB MetLife said, “I want to congratulate all the winners and thank all their coaches for their valuable guidance that led the participants to victory. I believe that physical fitness plays a vital role towards the overall well-being of a person. Through JBC, we aim to encourage sports and an active lifestyle amongst children. The growing participation of JBC every year as well as the popularity JBC Boot Camp is gaining, solidifies my belief that together, we can build a healthier, fitter and stronger nation.”

Nipun Kaushal, Chief Marketing Officer, PNB MetLife said, “The growth of Junior Badminton Championship has been phenomenal over the years, making it as one of the largest open-platforms for young badminton enthusiasts. Aligned to our brand ethos of Milkar Life Aage Badhaein, and as a part of our endeavour to take Badminton to grassroots, we are happy to award annual scholarships to 32 young badminton aspirants, who otherwise would have been unable to pursue this sport because of lack of adequate means.”

About PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited

PNB MetLife has as its shareholders MetLife International Holdings LLC. (“MIHL”), Punjab National Bank (“PNB”), Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited, M. Pallonji Group and other private investors, with MIHL and PNB being the promoters. 

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