Will ‘Operation Swachh Badminton’ see light?

Will the Bharat Badminton Players Association (BBPA), a national-level outfit purporting to protect the interests of the Indian shuttlers, ever get registered? Even if it does, will it obtain affiliation from the Badminton Association of India (BAI)? These are the questions facing those who see a need to ‘clean up’ the BAI.

Disenchanted with the ways of the BAI, some former international and national players have formed an association and taken signatures affirming support from over 400 players across the country.

A couple of current internationals are backing “Operation

Swachh Badminton”. However, for obvious reasons, they prefer to remain in the background, and their support is only tacit.

“The problem is that the present Indian Badminton Players Welfare Association (IBPWA), with chief national coach Pullela Gopichand as president and Vimal Kumar as secretary, is not doing anything for the players’ welfare. It is not active, and it has not conducted annual general meetings for long. As the BAI has already accorded affiliation to IBPWA, it is most unlikely that we will get recognition,” said a former international.

A good number of players from across the country seem to agree that it is time the IBPWA is dissolved and replaced with the BBPA. A player from Bangalore said all of the players, except for 40-odd players from a Hyderabad-based academy, have given their demand in writing for transparency in the BAI’s functioning.

There is a perception among several players that there is no transparency in the selection of various age-group squads, especially for overseas fixtures. They allege that players who have lost in the first or second rounds are finding a place in the teams going abroad, and that the BAI seems to favour players from only the Hyderabad-based academy, while ignoring deserving players from other States.