THWACK – A new force in Badminton is born

THWACK, the Indian based sports lifestyle brand, got its official launch in Singapore last week in a no expense spared extravaganza that served to express the brands long term commitment  to developing its global potential in a wide variety of sports with Badminton on top of that list.

Photos and article by Mark Phelan

THWACK, what kind of name is that for a serious sports brand you may ask yourself? That is the exact question I asked myself over and over again before travelling to Singapore last week for the official launch of this new sports lifestyle brand.

The name and company is the brainchild of the Indian based property consortium ‘One Group’ led by the youthful and dynamic Akhil Ganatra (pictured bottom right)  and group CEO Reji Mathew (pictured middle right). Both men are avid badminton enthusiasts and they see the One Sports Group and THWACK brand name as natural progressions for them as it is something they are most passionate about.

Their undoubted passion and commitment to the sport was on show for all to see at Singapore’s Fairmont Hotel last week in what was a clear indication of the brands intent as they move to establish themselves as a market leader in Badminton.

At the launch group CEO Regi Matthew, along with Chinese former champion and winner of the World Grand Prix Finals Xiong Guobao (pictured), launched the first badminton rackets onto the market with the new patented grip as developed in association with Guobao which is sure to be an important piece of every coaches kit bag with its specially designed grip to teach the correct technique for forehand and backhand shots.

“This is the first step for Thwack and we see this racket and grip as an important part of the Thwack product range moving forward. Over the course of the next 18 months we hope to have a full range of badminton products on the market which will include a full range or rackets, clothing, shuttle and shoes” said CEO Regi Matthew

“We are a brand that is here to stay and we are 100% committed to making Thwack a recognised global sports lifestyle brand. We continue to work to develop new equipment and we have put in place a budget of approximately 15 million dollars this year to achieve this.” Said Akhil Ganatra at the global launch.

Thwack will also be active in other sports such as Tennis, Squash and multi discipline martial arts and the next 18 months is sure to be an exciting time for all within the group. In a time when we hear of other brands pulling out of badminton it is refreshing to see the enthusiasm shown by these likeable Indians and they have the knack of making all their business ventures work so get used to the name THWACK, as before long it is my guess it will roll off the tongues around the globe pretty easy!

For more information visit www.thwack.co