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Badminton has made giant strides in India in the last few years. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has been at the forefront of this change. The efforts of BAI and the success of the Indian shuttlers on the world stage have seen the sport soar on the popularity charts in the country.
However, despite the successes of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and others over the last few years, India is still not considered a top badminton nation.
Now, BAI wants to change this. The governing body has ambitious plans to raise the standard of the game in India and take the country to the pinnacle of the sport.
One of its key proposals is the opening of five regional academies and a National Badminton Academy. According to BAI joint secretary Mayur Parikh:
“The BAI has decided to set up five regional academies and one national academy in the country. To provide quality standard coaching to the budding shuttlers and popularise the game across the country, the BAI will launch these projects soon,” said Mayur Parikh, who is based in Ahmedabad.
He said the Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) is keen to have the West Zone’s regional academy in Nagpur. Guwahati is likely to have the East Zone Academy.
National Badminton Academy to be set up near Delhi
Mayur Parikh said that though venues for the zonal centers haven't been finalized, the national academy will come up near Delhi.
“The five cities have not been finalised yet. Guwahati (East Zone), Nagpur (West Zone), Panchkula (North Zone), Hyderabad (South Zone) and Raipur (Central Zone) are likely to get the final approvals. The National Badminton Academy will be set up near Delhi. The head office of BAI is in Delhi, and that is the reason the BAI wants to have its national center near the capital."
Forming regional academies is an ambitious project of BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has recently become the chief minister of Assam. Mayur Parikh added:
“Our president wants to see India at the top of the world in another five years’ time. Development of the game at the grassroots is a must. BAI will promote new venues and academies across the country supported by good coaches. It will create a big bunch of quality shuttlers across the country. Quality foreign coaches will work in tandem with the Indian coaches at all the regional academies as well as at the national academy."
Multi-level tournament structure in place
To tackle the issue of poor prize money, which keeps top stars away from national ranking tournaments, BAI has introduced a major revamp.
Prize money in the domestic tournaments is much less. That is a reason why most of the top stars don’t compete in the All India Ranking tournaments.
“In a major revamp, the BAI announced the introduction of a multi-level domestic tournament structure, which will have combined prize money of approximately Rs 2 crore. The decision to restructure the domestic tournament set-up was taken in order to have a performance-oriented approach and to find the best talents from across the country,” said Mayur Parikh.
The new structure will have three categories of tournaments -- Levels 1, 2 and 3. The highest, Level 1, will have a Rs 25 lakh purse. The Premier Super Series tournament - categorised as a Level 1 event - will be played twice a year and have restricted entry with main draws only.
The tournament will have a league-cum-knockout format, wherein the top eight domestic singles players and the top four pairs – all below 100 in the world rankings -- will be eligible for direct entry. Moreover, the top 24 singles players and 12 doubles steams as per BAI rankings will also get direct entry.
The senior national championships will also have more incentives for players, with total prize money raised to Rs 50 lakh.
“The increased prize money in the domestic tournaments will certainly benefit the shuttlers. BAI aims to unearth the best talents who can sustain a high level of play at international tournaments. It will also create a sustainable domestic structure backed with sizeable prize money,” said Mayur Parikh.
BAI has also formed a four-member committee for talent identification. A standing panel for talent identification has been formed consisting of chief national coach Pullela Gopichand, BAI general secretary Ajay Kumar Singhania, BAI vice-president Sekhar C Biswas and junior national chief coach Sanjay Mishra.
The committee will oversee the selection of upcoming players and participants for Khelo India Youth Games in consultation with the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Target Olympic Podium Scheme (Tops) division as may be required from time to time. The selection will be made in a very transparent manner and set criteria.
BAI's plans for improvement of badminton in the country:
1. Regional Academies in Five Zones
2. National Badminton Academy
3. Separate Academy for Doubles
4. Appointment of more foreign coaches
5. Revamped domestic structure
6. Three levels of national-level tournaments
7. Increased combined Rs 2 crore prize money
8. Talent Identification Committee
9. Developing national coaches
10. International exposure for top-ranked domestic players.
