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Vimal Kumar, former world No.17 and chief coach of the Indian team, has always been a progressive voice in Indian badminton. As chief coach, he had submitted an elaborate ‘LTDP’ – Long Term Development Programme — to the Badminton Association of India which was unfortunately ignored. If the LTDP had been implemented, Indian badminton would have been far ahead of where it is today. In this conversation, Vimal elaborates on some of his ideas to revive the domestic circuit, which has been stifled due to a lack of innovative ideas in the country:
Make Indian tournaments open to foreigners:
Indian tournaments should be open to everybody. Let the tournaments be open, except the national championships. If I’m having a Rs 2 lakh tournament in West Bengal, I might get entries from Bangladesh. The profile of the tournament will get better. Don’t sit on technicalities. It doesn’t matter if it’s not recognised as an international tournament. We have to welcome foreign players – that will help our players as well.
Stop wasting time on frivolous issues:
The major detriment is the conditions put in the name of BWF rules. Like, if you’re playing an open tournament, you are not allowed to wear a district T-shirt; the quarterfinals onwards, T-shirts have to match with shorts, etc. Half the time, these officials waste time on irrelevant issues. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Umpires are petrified because of a few officials. Instead of conducting matches, they are worried about what’s written on the T-shirts, or the size of the logo, so players are pasting tape on their T-shirts, which looks bad.
Change the structure of inter-state event:
(The inter-state event has become lop-sided ever since all the various petroleum companies, which employ most of the international players, have started fielding a unified team.)
Make the nationals interesting. The inter-state has become a farce. Only the winner of the inter-unit matches should represent the petroleum sector at the inter-state event. They should not field a unified team.
Elite players must play domestic events:
This has been going on for the last five-six years. The number of tournaments has dropped. Our emphasis is only on elite players. We are neglecting the next line of players. Every tournament organiser wants the best players in the country, but that’s not possible because of the hectic international schedule. The top players should compulsorily play in one or two domestic tournaments.
Over the last five-six years, the Sports Ministry has given tremendous support, so players have the responsibility to give back to the sport. They cannot say they cannot play in domestic events. The top players should play at least two tournaments in the country.
The mentality of the player is to expect everything to be given to them. Professionalism means you should spend your own money on your training requirements, rather than expect the state or your sponsor to do everything for you.
Reduce the minimum prize money required for tournaments:
Now, the minimum is Rs 5 lakh prize money, and the total money required to hold a tournament is around Rs 10 lakh. The cost of the officials has gone up. Organisers are being burdened. They are putting in Rs 10 lakh, but what are they getting back? So they need to be given options. Keep the higher prize money tournaments, but keep even Rs 1 lakh prize money tournaments. The second line of players don’t get any events to play. They are spending money to go for international tournaments. Instead of burdening organisers, allow the national circuit to have different categories of prize money tournaments. Let even the third line of players play. Let there be 20-30 tournaments.
Make the draws transparent:
The entries close 21 days before a tournament. The M (main draw) and Q (qualifying) lists are put out one week before. But why aren’t the draws announced immediately? The draws are announced only at the last minute, and there are all kinds of changes that happen. Now, even on the first day of the tournament, the draw is likely to change. We don’t even know where the draws are done. There is no system. We should know who’s doing it. Even at the nationals, the draw wasn’t out on time. The referee doesn’t have a clue. He’s not informed of anything.
Crack down on overage menace:
I’d say 50-60 percent of junior players are overage. Introduce bone tests for the international team. If junior players are caught, prevent them from playing age-category events. If the culprit is in the under-19 category, stop them from playing for two years. Badminton is the only sport that’s not implementing it.
Enable both scoring formats:
I always say the 80s was the golden era of badminton. We should have both scoring formats. The quality of the game has gone down because of the scoring format; everybody is scared of opening up their game and exploring the length and width of the court. They all want to play fast and safe, and bang down the shuttle if it is hit up.
