It is a legacy that sports-mad teenager Charlie Booth would have been so proud of.

Just over three years after his tragic death, his friends, who formed Team Charlie, have fulfilled their ambition – to open a sports centre in an impoverished part of India in his name.

Having raised more than £70,000, the close-knit circle of mates went to a village in the south of the country where Charlie’s dad Nick Booth and his sister Harriet, 16, performed the opening ceremony.

Family and friends from both Gad’s Hill, Higham, and King’s School, Rochester, were devastated after Charlie took his own life at his home in Cobham in March 2013.

He was just 16, about to take his GCSEs at Gad’s Hill and preparing to join the sixth form at King’s.

After his death, there was a strong desire to come up with a memorial to Charlie which would benefit others at the same time.

Two of his best friends, Zak Warwood and Zac Lucas, now both 19, accompanied the Dean of Rochester, Dr Philip Hesketh, to India in February 2014.

The poverty and lack of basic living facilities appalled them.

Zak, from Cliffe, drove two hours out of the main town of Chennai and came across the village of Ikkadu, where there were two dilapidated children’s hostels and a church.

"What has been done is extraordinary, and in just over two years" - Canon Hesketh

It was a large plot of unused land that caught Zak’s eye and, given Charlie’s love of sport, he immediately decided on building a sports centre and refurbishing the accommodation used by about 100 children.

Zak said: “By this time, back home, Team Charlie had grown and grown and not just mates, but parents and teachers. I had a vision but had to ask the Booth family. Once they said ‘go for it’ that was it – all systems go.

“We knew it was going to be hard and would have a lot of things to overcome. But everyone got behind it. Whether it was £1 or £100 it all made a difference.”

The vision turned into a two-fold project.

Fundraising events in the UK included car washes, marathons, a golf day, quiz and open mic nights. A launch party was held at King’s where £10,000 was pledged.

In India, they had to get planning permission from landowners and find architects and builders they could trust.

Last year, Harriet, who was working with a group from Gad’s Hill to paint and decorate the hostels, laid the foundation stone.

And this summer, 16 members of Team Charlie attended the opening, tied in with a two-day sports festival involving 500 youngsters from the region.

Zak’s sister, Katie Warwood, 18, said the ribbon cutting by Mr Booth and Harriet was a moment that nobody who was present would ever forget.

She said: “Although the sports centre is now open, we still need to purchase sports equipment for the children and we have also been undertaking improvements of the two hostels.”

Team Charlie is fundraising to provide more sports equipment at the centre, which has a large games hall and shower rooms. They would also like to place a sports teacher there.

They will also be providing a Christmas dinner for all the children, as they have for the last two years.

Canon Hesketh added: “What has been done is extraordinary, and in just over two years. It’s very important we don’t walk away from it now. Strong friendships have been forged and we must build on them.”