Corporate sector has been playing an important role in promoting sports in the country, extending support in various forms, of course, off the field. It was, hence, a rare occasion when employees of 11 corporate houses of Odisha played a badminton tournament at the Holy Child School in Jatni on August 15 and 16.

Though the two-day tournament was meant only for casual or amateur shuttlers, the skills and court-craft displayed by them were far better than what one could have imagined. Flashes of brilliance, including power-packed smashes, accurate cross-court and down-the-line shots, and delicate drops made matches worthy to watch.

Infosys won the team title, while Capgemini finished runners-up. BSNL, LTIMindtree, Accenture, EY, Study IT, IBM, TCS and KIIT were other teams in the fray. The tournament also featured five individual events.

Organised by Bhubaneswar Corporate Sports Alliance, the tournament assumed added significance because of the unique venue. A private school, run by Stafford Educational Trust, Holy Child School stands out as an ideal model where education gels well with sports.

Within a small campus the school not only provides pre-school, junior and secondary education, but also modest training and coaching facilities in badminton, table tennis, swimming, cue sports, yoga, carom and chess.

The ground floor of the three-storied school building, features the three badminton courts, where former State champion Bibhas Parida runs an academy. The cadets of the Bibhas Parida Holy Child Badminton Academy have also started achieving success in state-level tournaments.

Run by a sports-loving academia couple, featuring director Stafford Valentine Redden and principal Vivien Maria Redden, Holy Child School is also expecting its first batch of students to excel in the CBSE Board examinations this year.

RESULTS (Individual finals):
Mens singles: Devesh Kumar (Infosys) beat Rakesh Kumar Patro (KIIT).
Womens singles: Bisakha (KIIT) beat Pratiksha (EY).
Mens doubles: Sushanta Kumar Acharya & Harish Chandra Mahakud (BSNL) beat Janmejay Manasingh & Amarjyoti Maharana (Infosys).
Womens doubles: Subhashree & Bisakha (KIIT) beat Kaveri & Vishalaksmi (Infosys).
Mixed doubles: Prabhu & Pratiksha (EY) beat Soumya Ranjan & Astha Basak (IBM).
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PHOTO: Title winners and runners-up pose with tournament organizers and guests in Jatni on 16 August 2026.