The governing body of badminton in India, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided to boycott the Pakistan International Series which is going to be held in Islamabad later this month.
According to the sources in the association, the BAI boycotted the tournament as an act of solidarity with the Indian government, following the terrorist attack in Uri.
The Pakistan International Series is scheduled to be played from October 18th to October 21st. The president of Badminton Association of India, Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta confirmed the action in a press release today, “The announcement comes as an act of solidarity with the decisions of the government of India in wake of the ongoing tensions between the two countries.”
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The president also supported the Indian Government’s current stance towards the neighbouring country. “On behalf of the council members of BAI and the entire badminton fraternity, we express strong concerns and support towards the sentiments of our fellow citizens of India,” he told.
Following the terrorist attack on the army camp in Uri which resulted in the death of 17 Indian soldiers, the Government of India is putting the Pakistani government under severe pressure.
This incident’s reaction in sports has been severe in the previous month as the organisers did not invite Pakistani Kabaddi players to participate in the Kabaddi World Cup this month, which is going to be held in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The relations between India and Pakistan took another toll yesterday when the BCCI president Anurag Thakur requested the ICC, the world governing body of cricket, to not put India and Pakistan in the same group for the upcoming ICC events.
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India pulling out from the tournament might be followed by other countries as well, as evidenced by the pulling out of countries from the SAARC summit in Pakistan, where a handful of the nations like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan also boycotted the summit.
According to pundits, the badminton communities of both countries will suffer as a consequence of this decision.
The BWF International series is to be held in Islamabad between October 18th and 21 st.
