Jamshedpur's new badminton academy is turning out to be a big draw for wannabe shuttle champs from both India and abroad.

Two budding players from Sharjah are already picking up techniques of the game at the cradle, which debuted at Mohan Ahuja Stadium in September and is run by Jharkhand Badminton Association, while more children from the UAE are expected to drop anchor by March next year.

Currently, there are 30 trainees, including six from Bengal and three from Bihar, besides the Sharjah sisters. The others are from various parts of Jharkhand.

Snigdha and Sneha Sarkar have come all the way from UAE's cultural capital to train under chief mentor Sachin Kumar Rana, an NIS (National Institute of Sports) accredited coach who has worked with the likes of Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu at the Rio Games preparatory camp in Hyderabad.

Encouraged by their NRI parents Ranjoy and Piyali Sarkar, the sisters are utterly serious about pursuing a career in badminton.

"We love the game. We will work very hard because we want to become good players," 12-year-old Singdha, a student of Class VII at Leaders Private School in Sharjah, spoke for her sister and herself while practising at the stadium in Bistupur on Thursday. Sneha, 10 years old and a fifth grader, beamed that badminton was her "favourite sport".

Father Ranjoy, who works at an MNC in UAE, said he received positive feedback about the Jamshedpur cradle from his friends in Calcutta.

"My little girls have a knack for the game. So, I decided to give them a good chance to hone their skills and we all came to the steel city four days ago. We will leave on January 6 after their crash course," he said.

Mother Piyali, a homemaker, said Jamshedpur had a sporting spirit that she liked. "I am also happy to see my daughters train under an experienced coach," she said.

Doesn't Sharjah have badminton cradles?

"Yes, there are a few, but this one in Jamshedpur was recommended. And, after coming here we know we took the right decision," Ranjoy said.

State badminton outfit secretary K. Prabhakar Rao said around 30 more aspiring shuttlers from Sharjah and Dubai were expected to come for training next year.

"One of our wards from Jamshedpur, Aman Sengupta, recently won an Under-10 tournament in Dubai. The NRIs in Sharjah and Dubai were very impressed. They made enquiries (with Aman's parents) about our cradle. We will be glad to groom more kids," he added.