The Hindu : BAI bye objectivity!

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 12, 2003

Sport

Sport - Badminton

BAI bye objectivity!

By V. V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD AUG. 11. It is turning out to be a simple case of brushing aside the rankings and performances. And the players have become pawns in the hands of `select' officials of a National federation though they deserve to be treated objectively based on their show in the domestic circuit.

This observation comes in the wake of avoidable confusion created by the Badminton Association of India with regard to the selection of the National team for the Singapore Open, starting on August 18. The team presents a pathetic picture of how the wise men in the selection panel can come out with such stunning combinations.

Just consider this: Twenty-year-old Anup Sridhar is sponsored by BAI for the Open but doesn't figure in the main draw or qualifying round. He is in the reserve list and has an outside chance of playing only if there are withdrawals. The reason — his current world ranking of 458.

Then comes the fate of India's second best player, Chetan Anand. His name has been forwarded to the organisers at his own cost and figures in the qualifying round. For the record, even 2001 All England champion Pullela Gopi Chand, who is not listed in the BAI rankings for not taking part in any domestic event, will also have to go through the qualifying grind as he will be back on the competitive circuit after a long lay-off due to injury.

It is interesting to look at the IBF rankings (as on August 7) of some of the big names from India who will figure in the Open. In the men's section, the highest-ranked player is Abhinn Shyam Gupta (68), followed by Chetan Anand (94) and Gopi Chand (123). In the women's category, Aparna Popat has the distinction of being the only Indian to play in the main draw with a world ranking of 26.

The team forwarded by L.C. Gupta, Secretary of BAI, to the Open organisers, along with their National rankings, is: Men: Abhinn Shyam (No. 1), Gopi Chand (not listed), Anup Sridhar (No. 3), Chetan Anand (No. 2), J.B.S. Vidhyadhar (No. 5), Nikhil Kanetkar (No. 6) and Arvind Bhat (No. 8). Among these players, Chetan, Nikhil, Vidhyadhar and Arvind will not be sponsored by BAI, clearly ignoring the credentials of a player of Chetan's calibre.

This shows that when it comes to treating the players based on their ranking or performance, BAI has the full liberty to do as it wishes. Those sponsored by BAI will be guaranteed their travel and accommodation expenditure while the others have to spend on their own.

The distaff side presents a similar tale. As per the norms, the top two players from the country — Aparna Popat and Shruti Kurien — have to be sponsored by BAI. But something else is happening. The team comprises Aparna Popat (No. 5), B.R. Meenakshi (No. 1), Trupti Murgunde (No. 3), Shruti Kurien (No. 2) and Jwala Gutta (No. 6) and BAI is taking care of Aparna and Meenakshi while the rest have to meet their expenses.

Scapegoats

The selection committee did not deem it fit to field Jwala and Shruti as the doubles combination in the Open despite them being the best in India since 2000. The same players who were good enough for the recent World championship are suddenly out of favour for the Open. BAI, by not sending them for any of the major events abroad except for the Sudirman Cup, has made their world ranking slip from 23.

The other relevant issue here is if the two are entertaining any hopes of qualifying for the Athens Olympics, it is mandatory to take part in at least 10 international events from July 2003 to a couple of weeks before the Olympics. Till now, the 19-year-old Jwala and 20-year-old Shruti have participated in only one.

There is a feeling that both Jwala and Shruti are being made scapegoats as Dronacharya S.M. Arif is no more actively involved in the process. Being his trainees, they suddenly seem to have lost both guidance and assurance. What else can explain the reason for their being treated so badly despite being regulars in all the major events, including the Uber Cup, World Cup and Commonwealth Games in the last couple of years.

Due to the Singapore Open treatment, Jwala and Shruti may skip the Malaysian Open (September 2 to 7) as they are in no position to bear the expenses. To their misfortune, even the Rs. five lakhs promised by the State Government in 2001 on the floor of the Assembly is yet to be given.

There is another area of concern among the players. It is widely perceived that BAI rarely bothers to find out what the coaches do on foreign tours, whether they are available during competition or just enjoying the `hospitality.'

Worse, some of the coaches against whom apprehensions have been raised are the same gentlemen who file the review reports of players. Apparently, they are trying to defame those who did not fall in line with their thinking. Who will bell the cat on this crucial issue?

In this scenario, it remains to be seen whether the selection panel, at least in the future, shows objectivity and consistency and picks players purely on performances and rankings.

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