'Talked about how Apple Watch helps them': Tim Cook on meeting Saina Nehwal, other badminton players

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday met badminton champions like Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi, Chirag Shetty, and Parupalli Kashyap and also badminton coach Pullela Gopichand. He said the players told him how Apple Watch helps them train.

"Great meeting Coach Gopichand and badminton champions Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi, Chirag Shetty, and Parupalli Kashyap, who have played a part in putting badminton on the map for India. We served, smashed, and talked about how Apple Watch helps them train," tweeted Cook who is currently in India as part of the iPhone maker's store launch in the country.

Cook is optimistic about the Indian market, stating that India is at a tipping point and that Apple is poised to have some good growth in the country. In an exclusive interview with Business Today, Cook expressed excitement about Apple's plans in India, including local manufacturing, online and offline stores.

"India is at a tipping point and it feels great to be here. You can feel the vibrancy, dynamism. The feeling that anything here is possible," Cook told Business Today in Mumbai.

Cook on Tuesday launched the iconic consumer technology company's first retail store in India, welcoming customers into the facility inside a mall in suburban BKC.

''The energy, creativity, and passion in Mumbai is incredible! We are so excited to open Apple BKC — our first store in India,'' Cook, who opened the doors of the store for customers, tweeted.

Dressed in a black-t and grey pants and accompanied by the company's senior vice president for retail Deirdre O'Brien, Cook opened the doors of the store to walk into a crowded foyer to pose for the media, and then started welcoming customers into the store.

Customers took selfies with Cook, sought autographs and exchanged pleasantries before going in.

A staircase with a 14-metre single piece glass on either side of the stairs is the key highlight of the store spread over 20,000 square feet over two floors in the Jio World Drive mall, which also houses brands like Diesel, Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Swarovski.

With inputs from PTI

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