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The Badminton Association of India's (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra assured players and parents that age-fudging issues will be seriously looked into and strict action will be taken against those guilty.
Mishra was interacting with the parents and players of the All India U-13 ranking tournament in Mohali, which was marred by age-fraud controversies. He spent about an hour hearing the grievances of parents who were protesting against a bunch of players whom they claimed were overage.
The secretary said the association will not tolerate any wrongdoing on the part of the players.
Mishra said that the IDs of the two players, who were found guilty of submitting questionable documents during registration, would be canceled. He also assured that a detailed investigation would be carried out against other players named by the parents.
In a media statement, Mishra said:
“Further appropriate action would be taken on those found guilty after the Age-Fraud Committee meeting to decide the quantum of action."
No decision made to strip event of points, says Badminton Association
There was talk about whether the tournament that resumed after the meeting would be stripped of its ranking points.
The secretary clarified that no such decision was made by the BAI and that the organizers had no authority to take a call on such an important issue.
“Whether the tournament points are deducted or nullified is solely and wholly a discretion of the BAI and not of any outsider. BAI has not reduced or cancelled any points,” he added.
This was the first time in Indian badminton history that a tournament was halted midway due to an over-age fraud issue. The fourth day of the seven-day long tournament was marred by controversy as aggrieved parents protested against participants being over the age limit, which forced the organizers to halt the matches.
