The two Indian finalists in the Singapore Open, B Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth, wore black armbands in the title match to pay homage to the recently deceased President of the Badminton Association of India, Akhilesh Das Gupta.
Gupta, 56, died on April 12th after suffering a massive heart attack. He was a prominent politician, a former Mayor of Lucknow, and a prominent figure in the Indian badminton scene. He was also a Rajya Sabha MP for 18 years.
In the final, Praneeth got the better of Srikanth 17-21, 21-17, 21-12 and both players wore commemorative armbands in memory of Gupta. BAI officials confirmed the black band development earlier today.
During Das Gupta’s tenure at the helm of BAI, both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu won Olympic medals in 2012 and 2016 respectively. He became the president of BAI in 2011 after controversially ousting VK Verma. Gupta was a controversial figure as his time as the president of the Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association and the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Badminton Association was dotted with alleged scandals.
It was during Gupta’s time at the helm of the BAI that Indian badminton reached its current heights, aptly culminating in the historical final between Praneeth and Srikanth in the Singapore Open. So, perhaps it was fitting that both players paid homage to Gupta, who has had a big hand in the development of Indian badminton over the years.
It remains to be seen what happens to the Indian badminton scene now that the influential figure of Gupta is no longer around. Both the BAI and the Uttar Pradesh Badminton Association will now be in a state of flux and face uncertain futures. A new battle of supremacy looks to be on the cards in the BAI circles, with former All England champion Pullela Gopichand a frontrunner in the race to replace Gupta.
Gupta oversaw a golden period of Indian badminton during his tenure at the top of BAI, but now that he is no longer around, what turn Indian badminton takes is difficult to gauge. Despite having a hand in the success of Indian badminton, Gupta’s dictatorial style of working enraged many a stakeholder. Some BAI officials, as well as some top shuttlers, had lodged protests against Gupta, but now that there is a void in the higher circles of Indian badminton, it will be interesting to see what turn the sport takes in the immediate to medium-term future.
