Manitoba’s Coach of the Year in
1997 and 2011 and was honoured by
Badminton Manitoba for his years
of dedication to junior badminton
with the naming of the Pal Chawla
Manitoba Junior Open in 2011.
But while he was an incredible
coach and club professional, he was
also a great player. He began playing
in 1955 as a 13-year-old and within
three months had won the Under-16
Regional title and went on to reach the
Semi-Finals at the Indian Nationals the
same year. He had his breakout year in
1959. As a 17-year-old he beat the likes
of Billy Ng (the No. 1 Malaysian player)
and took badminton legend Erland
Kops of Denmark to three games.
He won Individual and Team Event
Gold as a doubles player at the U-21
Boys Asian Championships Team Event
and then, after moving to Canada
contnued to play at the highest levels
and was ranked as high as No. 4 in
Canada in Men’s Singles and No. 6 in
Men’s Doubles. He won a silver medal
in Men’s Singles at the l971 Canada
Pal Chawla and his top young players
Winter Games and won Bronze in
Men’s Doubles at the World Masters
Games (45-plus Age Category) in
Denmark l991.
“Pal Chawla has made an important
contribution to the development of
our sport,” said Anil Kaul, the President
of Badminton Canada. “He has been
instrumental in developing several
of Canada’s top players in his
40-plus years as a coach. Whether as
a coach, volunteer or event director,
Pal has demonstrated the leadership
in growing our sport that our
organization deeply values.”
Now 73, Pal Lives in Winnipeg
with his wife, Surinder and his two
daughters, Amrita and Puneet. l
Photography by
Jeff and Tara Miller
204-430-5522
sportslife / 17