The Badminton Association of India (BAI) is in the process of setting up its own National Coaching Centre (NCC) either in Hyderabad or Bengaluru to ensure that all players picked for various international events train together at one venue.
Vivek, a Bengaluru-based industrialist, whose Badminton Academy with world-class facilities including 16 courts and a hostel is likely to be ready by the first week of December, is keen to enter into an agreement with BAI to ensure that BAI has complete control over the facility, according to a senior official of BAI.
Another option
To keep its options open, BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma has also written to the Telangana State government to allot an indoor stadium in Hyderabad on lease for 15 years.
A final decision is still awaited from the Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) which is, however, keen only on a 10-year lease, to be renewed thereafter. This was also confirmed by SATS VC & MD A. Dinakar Babu. “Yes, the matter is being discussed at a high level and a decision will be taken very soon,” he said.
Interestingly, BAI is looking at Saroornagar Indoor Stadium instead of Gachibowli as a better option if Hyderabad is decided as the venue as it feels Saroornagar is bigger than Gachibowli and has a hostel facility too.
Asked why the concept of NCC, the BAI official said: “Primarily, to see there is no scope for any complaints of discrimination by any player or against any coach.
“By ensuring all the facilities at one place, we can make sure all the big players will be there in one National camp. For this, we are willing to spend about ₹3 to 4 crore in the next couple of years to ensure a much better performance in the 2020 Olympics.”
It was also informed that the BAI president was constantly engaged in discussions with chief national coach Pullela Gopi Chand in this regard. “We will take a call very soon depending on the response from the Telangana government,” he added.
“Importantly, we want all the national players in one camp and not train at academies of their choice as is the case now. We are also going to make it clear that if they don’t attend these National camps, they will not be considered for selection,” the BAI official said.
