All posts tagged: Badminton Association of India

BAI announces Rs 50 lakh for Paris Paralympics medallists

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Badminton Association of India (BAI), on Tuesday, announced Rs 50 lakh cash prize for the Indian para-shuttlers who won medals at the Paris Paralympics 2024. Indian para-shuttlers won five medals – one gold, two silver, and two bronze – their most in any edition of the Paralympic Games and secured podiums in the women’s events for the first time. Nitesh Kumar clinched the coveted gold in the Men’s Singles SL3 category, while Suhas Yathiraj (Men’s singles SL4) won his second consecutive Paralympics silver medal. Thulasimathi Murugesan, Manisha Ramadass, and Nithya Sre Sivan made history by becoming the first Indian women shuttlers to secure medals at the Paralympics. Thulasimathi bagged the silver in the Women’s Singles SU5 and Manisha the bronze. Meanwhile, Nithya scored a bronze in the SH6 category. The gold medal winner, Nitesh, will receive a purse of Rs 15 lakh. Silver medallists Suhas and Thulasimathi will be awarded Rs 10 lakh each, while bronze medallists Manisha and Nithya will receive Rs 7.5 lakh apiece. Commenting on the historic campaign of India’s para badminton …

Para shuttler Pranay Seth stranded in Indonesia as BAI fails to process entry

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Para shuttler Pranay Seth was stranded in Indonesia after the Badminton Association of India failed to process his entry for the Indonesia Para-Badminton International tournament. Despite receiving assurances from the BAI that his entry had been accepted, Pranay arrived in Indonesia, only to learn a day before the event that he was not registered to compete. A budding para shuttler, Pranay funded this trip personally with many hardships but it is futile now due to the failure of the management at BAI. “I feel helpless as all other athletes have started playing but can’t. I aim to qualify for bigger tournaments but due to such mistakes, all my chances will be greatly impacted as I won’t get ranking points. Also, I was playing singles and doubles but due to this my partner will also suffer. I am expecting immediate help from authorities,” said Pranay. His disappointment was compounded by the significant personal and financial sacrifices made to arrange for his participation in the tournament. The incident comes one week after Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar and …

‘BAI is ignorant and apathetic’, Paralympic champion Nitesh wants PCI to take over

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Delhi: Paralympic gold medalist Nitesh Kumar’s criticism of the Badminton Association of India for lack of recognition and the administrative mess has created a stir on social media. The gold medalist in men’s singles SL3 category, Nitesh took to social media platform X to criticise BAI and asked for para-badminton to be transferred under the aegis of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) “It has been happening for quite some time. We didn’t want to do anything then as the Paris Paralympics was coming up. But now that the Paralympics is done, I think it is the right time to discuss it,” the shuttler told The Bridge on a phone call. “The basics are lacking and there is no appreciation from the federation. It happened during the Asian Para Games too when we won 21 medals but there was no appreciation or anything from the federation,” he added further. Apart from the lack of recognition, Nitesh cited the administrative mess, logistical challenges, and lack of attention to the issues of the para-shuttlers. “At the world …

Paralympic star Kumar Nitesh cites BAI apathy, wants badminton to be placed under PCI | Sport-others News

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Frustrated with the lack of recognition and administrative wrangling within the Badminton Association of India (BAI), Paralympic champion Kumar Nitesh has called for para badminton to be transferred under the aegis of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) for the sport’s betterment and progress. The 29-year-old from Haryana, who secured a historic gold medal in the SL3 class at the Paris Paralympics, said para shuttlers needed to be treated on par with their able-bodied counterparts. “We have won 21 medals at the Asian Para Games, around 14-15 medals at the World Championships, and 5 medals at the Paralympics, but we don’t receive basic appreciation from BAI,” Kumar told PTI. “This isn’t a new issue; it’s a recurring problem. Their attention remains solely on able-bodied athletes, with minimal effort to promote para badminton.” Kumar also expressed his dissatisfaction on social media after BAI congratulated the para shuttlers on their Paris performance via Twitter. “Despite the occasional social media appreciation from @BAI_Media, we, the athletes, are highly dissatisfied with BAI’s lack of interest in para badminton. “We sincerely …

Paralympic gold medalist Nitesh Kumar slams BAI for negligence

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Fresh off his gold medal victory at the Paris Paralympics, India’s para-badminton star Nitesh Kumar has publicly criticised the Badminton Association of India (BAI) for its alleged negligence towards para-badminton. In a strongly worded tweet, Nitesh Kumar expressed his and fellow athletes’ dissatisfaction with the BAI’s handling of para-badminton responsibilities, despite rare social media praise from the association. Kumar’s tweet directly called for the handover of para-badminton to the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) from the BAI and Sports Authority of India (SAI), tagging key figures like Sports Minister Mansukh Mandviya, Minister of State for Yoth Affairs and Sports Raksha Khadse, and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his plea for intervention. Irrespective of the social media appreciation from @BAI_Media (which is very rare),we the athletes are highly dissatisfied with the response & the interest from BAI regarding Para badminton responsibilities, we sincerely request BAI & @Media_SAI to handover para badminton to PCI https://t.co/IeiGcagD8Q — Nitesh kumar (@niteshnk11) September 10, 2024 The IIT Mandi graduate won the gold medal at the Paris Paralympics with a …

Tanvi Sharma, Pranauv Ram, Rounak Chouhan to headline Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial badminton | Badminton News

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Former U-17 national champion and member of this year’s Asian Championships-winning Indian women’s team, Tanvi Sharma will be among the top contenders in the girls’ U-19 category at the 31st Yonex Sunrise Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Prize Money Tournament to be held here from September 12-19. The tournament, which is being organised by Express Shuttle Club Trust under the aegis of Haryana Badminton Association, is one of the junior events on the Badminton Association of India (BAI) domestic calendar and will be played at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Sector 3. “We have received 1,014 entries for the tournament. It is an important tournament on the BAI calendar and offers ranking points to U-19 players. Last year’s finalist Tanvi Sharma is the leading contender in the girls’ U-19 category and players like top seed Rujula Ramu of Karnataka and Medhavi Nagar of Haryana too will be top draws of the event,” said tournament director Sanjiv Sachdeva, who has been the chief coach of the Indian junior team in the past …

Paris 2024 lessons for badminton officials: Look beyond organising tournaments | Badminton News

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The Badminton Association of India (BAI) didn’t have much to do in matters of who represented the country at the Olympics. The Indian squad of seven – PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto – made it to the Paris Games because of the world rankings they had earned. BAI would wish there were 3 women in singles in the Top 16 bracket and they would have to hold trials to pick the most-likely ones to medal. But India has no such riches to boast about. And it is the lack of this happy headache that should worry those running the sport in the country. The BAI has been lucky that the two coaching centres they support – in Hyderabad and Bangalore – have been rolling out champions. Pullela Gopichand ensured that Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu reached the Olympic podium and now the Vimal Kumar-Prakash Padukone combination brought Lakshya Sen into the semis at Paris. But are just two academies enough to cater to the gushing …

Badminton: BWF Junior World Championships returns to India, Guwahati’s National Centre of Excellence awarded hosting rights | Badminton News

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Guwahati has been announced as the host city of the BWF World Junior Championships in 2025, the Badminton World Federation announced on Tuesday. The Junior Worlds usually features a team event first, followed by individual events across the five categories, and the BWF said that both will be held at the Badminton Association of India’s (BAI) National Centre of Excellence in the northeastern region of India. The hosting rights were confirmed at the BWF Council meeting on April 28. The World Juniors were last held in India in Pune in 2008. India’s only gold medal in the junior major came that year when Saina Nehwal defeated Sayaka Sato to become world champion. The NCOE boasts 14 badminton courts, an international standard gymnasium and seating capacity of around 4,000 spectators. “The allotment of the BWF World Juniors to Guwahati is vindication of India’s growing reputation as a badminton powerhouse which can not only produce champion players but also host mega international events. During the Guwahati Masters, BWF officials had also visited the National Centre of Excellence …

BAI announces rewards over 1.12 crore INR for Asian Games, BATC success

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Badminton Association of India on Thursday announced a cash incentive of over INR 1.12 crore to the players and support staff for their success in major international tournaments including the Asian Games, Badminton Asia Team Championship, and the BWF World Junior Championships. The women’s team that won the historic Badminton Asia Team Championship (BATC) crown last month will get INR 35 lakh, 2022 Asian Games gold medallist men’s doubles combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are awarded INR 12 lakh, 2022 Asian Games men’s singles bronze medallist HS Prannoy will receive INR 5 lakh while the men’s team that bagged the 2022 Asian Games silver for the first time will collectively get a prize sum of INR 40 lakh. The BAI has also rewarded 2023 BWF World Championships bronze medallist Ayush Shetty (INR 1 lakh), Badminton Asia Junior U-15 boys singles champion Bornil Aakash Changmai (INR2 lakh), U-17 girls singles silver medallist Tanvi Sharma (INR 1 lakh) and U-15 boys singles bronze medallist Jagsher Singh Khangurra (INR 50,000). “Indian badminton is on the upswing …

BAI to conduct first Coaches Development Program in March

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As part of its endeavour to bring uniformity in grassroots coaching and develop a strong assembly line of potential stars, the Badminton Association of India in association with REC Limited and Sports Authority of India (SAI) will conduct its first-ever Coaches Development Program (Grassroot Level) for over 100 aspiring coaches in March 2024 at four venues across the country. The 11-day program will focus on the skill and knowledge enhancement of the participants around the essentials of grassroots badminton coaching. These programs will be held at the National Centre of Excellence, Guwahati, Raipur, Prakash Padukone Academy, Bengaluru, and Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, Hyderabad from March 8-18, BAI announced in an official release. “Indian badminton is on the rise and BAI has taken many steps to identify and nurture talent across the country. Grassroots level coaches play an important role in this process and the Coaches Development Program is aimed at empowering such beginner-level former players and coaches who understand the game but do not have all the experience of being a professional coach,” BAI secretary …