Mysuru: The 38th All India Postal Badminton Tournament began at Chamundi Vihar Indoor Stadium, here this morning. The tournament was inaugurated by International Badminton Player and Dhyan Chand Awardee Trupti Murgunde. The valedictory will be held on Nov. 14.

In her inaugural address, Trupti, citing the lack of outdoor activities in children, urged parents to encourage their wards to involve in sports rather than getting addicted to electronic gadgets and restricting themselves within the four walls.

A total of 194 players from 20 postal circles, including 134 male and 60 female officials, are competing in singles, doubles, veterans, mixed doubles and veterans’ doubles categories. A total of 11 players, including seven male and 4 female — Babu Srinivas, G. Purushotham, B.M. Janardhan, Balasubramanyam, U. Srikanta, G.P. Kumar, R. Leela Laxmi, P. Latha, Anusha, T. Rani, N.A. Manjunath (veteran category) — are representing Karnataka in the tournament.

Olympian and Dhyan Chand Awardee Ashwini Akkunji Chidananda and Ashish Kumar, Member (Coordination), Postal Service Board will be the guests for the valedictory event to be held on Nov. 14.

Chief Postmaster General (Karnataka Circle) S. Rajendra Kumar will preside.