Indian badminton in a state of crisis due to shuttlecock shortage

The scarcity of shuttlecocks has hit Indian badminton at a crucial point in the sport’s schedule.

There have been numerous events taking place in different parts of the country and with the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cup team championships due in May, the BAI (Badminton Association Of India) has been pushed onto the back foot with shuttlecock availability hit by production delays and import restriction problems.

On Tuesday, vice-president, TPS Puri, of the BAI said,“Yes, there is a shortage of shuttles at the moment, but we have ensured that players have not missed any practice sessions because of it, procuring them from local suppliers and other sources.”

Over the years, high quality shuttlecocks were imported from China via Singapore with a stock of 2,000 to 3,000 cartons enough to last for a year. The crisis occurred when the concerned goods were not permitted into the country due to unauthorization of certificates by the government.

“This practice came into force a couple of years back when fears of bird flu reached their peak,” said Puri. “As per the animal husbandry department directives, certificates would be issued after feathers were treated and boiled in water for 30 minutes.”

“However, our suppliers stated that this process would ruin the feathers and needed time to work on alternative techniques to meet the standards,” he added.

Alternative methods were tried to find a solution such as feathers being soaked in boiling water and sent to Japan for three weeks. But it brought up problems of shipment delays.

Sources reported that earlier this year, shuttlers across three national camps had been affected by this shortfall before the All England championships.