Had the World Badminton Federation (BWF) decided a few days earlier than Tuesday to postpone the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals in Denmark, Indian badminton leadership would have been saved the blushes. The Indian leaders will now have to live with the unprecedented and embarrassing decision to call off the National Camp, one that portrayed them in extremely poor light.
Indeed, we have been left with a few things to ponder about.
An official Sports Authority of India release stated on September 6 that SAI had asked Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Chief Coach Pullela Gopichand a week earlier to submit a proposal for a National Camp ahead of the Denmark event. That, in itself, raises eyebrows as BAI, like all other National Sports Federations, is not recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The primary question that needs to be asked if everyone knew that the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals were due from October 3, why did the stakeholders wait till August 27 to start thinking about a National Camp for the team? Given that the Chief Coach and BAI knew the Covid-19 protocols for such camps included a six-day isolation for each player, why was there a delay in calling for the camp?
A bigger question follows.
Tucked away in the SAI release was information that the proposal by BAI and the Chief Coach had stated that the players would reside in a hotel. “However, after discussion, it was decided that the players will stay and play at the Pullela Gopichand Academy itself to ensure greater safety of players amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” it said.
Why was there a proposal for the national campers to stay in a hotel when the academy has residential facilities, owing somewhat to a generous grant of Rs. 8 crore by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports? Back in 2012, the Ministry had granted what was then a private academy a sum of Rs. 5 crore.
The Ministry topped that with Rs. 3 crore in 2016-17 after signing the MoU (November 24, 2015) with the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation to establish the SAI-Gopichand Badminton Academy. That MoU would help end questions about conflict of interest that reared its head in cases before the Bombay High Court.
More than just funding the expansion, Sports Authority of India has paid the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy a sum of Rs 6.93 crore towards lodging expenses incurred during National camps over five years from 2014 to 2018. This forms a shade over 52 per cent of the total spends by SAI toward board, lodging and other expenses (Source: RTI response).
Here’s the break-up for the lodging expenses for each of the five years out of a total expenditure of Rs 13,22,69,526.
| Year | No. of days | Amount (in Rs.) |
| 2014 | 297 | 93,67,270 |
| 2015 | 341 | 99,85,398 |
| 2016 | 312 | 1,47,40,727 |
| 2017 | 328 | 1,83,19,065 |
| 2018 | 329 | 1,69,06,500 |
| Total | 1607 | 6,93,18,960 |
Since National Camps have been held over 1607 days from 2014 to 2018 – and these are residential camps as borne by the RTI response from SAI – it should have been the easiest of things for BAI and the Chief Coach to plan for the stay for 26 players and the necessary support staff in the residential wing itself.
Since Administrative Sanctions are not easily sourced (unlike in the case of some other disciplines), there is no indication how many persons were in each camp or the rates earmarked for board and lodging. However, a SAI sanction for a badminton camp in 2019 reveals the per day per person amounts as Rs 1500 for lodging, Rs 690 for board and Rs 430 for dietary supplements.
If the athletes, coaching staff, support staff and sparring partners have been using the board and lodging facilities in the SAI-Gopichand Academy for several years, why would anyone think of putting up the squad in a hotel in Hyderabad for the duration of the National Camp ahead of the Thomas& Uber Cup Finals?
Surely, it could not be that the residential wing of the Academy was undergoing repairs. For, the stakeholders agreed within a day that the players could stay and play in the Academy. If the reason were safety protocol, it makes us scratch our heads in amazement. For, as some would say, staying in a hotel would have been a riskier option for the athletes.
Can there be a more secure environment than the academy, easily an island of safety? If athletes and weightlifters can be in Netaji Subash National Institute of Sports in Patiala, hockey players in SAI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and others in Sonipat and Delhi, the badminton players could well have been persuaded to stay in a facility they are very familiar with.
Of course, if SAI is allowing lodging expenses for Patiala, Bengaluru and Sonipat etc., it may be only fair that organisations like the SAI-Gopichand Badminton Academy and the Army Sports Institute, Pune, are entitled for similar amounts per athlete per day. But we shall defer that question to another time.
Yet, at some point of time, it will have to ask itself if, in signing a 15-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Academy, it committed itself fairly first to fund the development of facilities and then have to pay for using it. And, be surprised when the Chief Coach and BAI recommended a hotel stay for National campers at a time when hostel stay may be a wiser option.
(The photograph is for representational purposes only).
Time an extensive exposé on Gopi was done. Let’s respect the coach but not if there is corruption.
Good story