New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS): With just a week away from the biggest-ever Para-Badminton National Championship to be held in Odisha, Dronacharya Awardee Gaurav Khanna, who is also the head coach of Para-Badminton India, said that the tournament has seen a growth over the years.

"Over the years the National Para-Badminton tournament has seen a growth, in the year 2018 there were under 300 participants, in 2019 there were under 400 participants and now we have the largest ever para-badminton National ever to be conducted with more than 500 participants participating in the 3-day event," Khanna said.

"This scale and magnitude has never been seen before and I would like to congratulate and also wish them luck to Para Sports Association of Odisha and Odisha government."

He further said that the increasing number of entries in the Nationals reflects the fast-growing interest of athletes in Para-Badminton.

"With the likes of Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar who secured gold at Paralympics and also Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award are inspiring the younger generation to take up this sport which is a great sign for the coming years," he added.

Para Sports Association of Odisha along with the Department of Sports and Youth Government of Odisha will host the three-day event from December 24-26.

The event will be held at two venues, Railway Indoor Stadium, Bhubaneswar in association with K.C. Memorial Trust and Udaan Badminton Academy under the Aegis of Paralympic Committee of India and Badminton Association of India.