Our journey started in August 2020, in the middle of the Corona pandemic. Indoor sport had largely shut down, and the multicultural region around Eindhoven — like most of the world — was going through a long stretch of not being able to meet, train, or socialise.
Our founder, Rohit Kulkarni, was already playing badminton at regional level in the Netherlands. Badminton was how he worked through that period. In August 2020 he booked a court in the city and invited anyone who wanted to come and play. Five people showed up. The next week it was eight. Before long one court was not enough.
What began as a way to get people back on court turned into something more deliberate. Rohit had grown up playing cricket at regional level in India and had to give up that ambition to academic demands — a very common story there. He wanted to build the kind of place that does not quietly close that door on a young player.
So the club grew in two directions at once. Eindhoven Badminton Academy® was built for youth development and is now certified by Badminton Nederland. Rudra United became the competitive side, and reached the first division in under six years. Around both sits a recreational division for players who simply want a good game every week.
