Code of conduct for shuttlers

A sport that fetches medals at the Olympics, World Championships, Asian and Commonwealth Games and other international events of repute is expected to be in fine fettle.

Run smoothly and churning out individuals who master the world with pomp and gait — badminton is a sport in India that one can never get tired eulogising of.Players like Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, K Srikanth and the ilk are protagonists of hundreds of astounding stories. Yes, along with the untiring chief national coach Pullela Gopichand.

Of late, the sport is mired in controversies. Lack of good results, skirmishes between players and coaches and ‘indiscipline’. A few foreign coaches have left abruptly. There are reports of players skipping training with flimsy excuses or without the knowledge of a competent authority or the chief coach. Demands for personal trainers and coaches have increased.

And results since 2019 — except for PV Sindhu’s World Championships gold, bronze for B Sai Praneeth and a breakthrough year for the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty — are hardly anything to celebrate. At times, lack of results has a macabre touch. It has the potential to open sores that are yet to heal. Perhaps, it’s no surprise that focus is on the system or the lack of it now.

The Covid-19 break has given the Badminton Association of India (BAI) think-tank to dissect the situation intensely. Indiscipline, they think is the bane too and needs to be addressed. Come July, BAI is set to introduce a code of conduct for all associated with the game.

It is understood that this was the outcome of the Annual Calendar of Training and Competition meeting between BAI and the sports ministry last year, when uncomfortable questions started surfacing. Going by minutes of the meeting, BAI has assured that it would ensure “discipline with zero tolerance to indiscipline”. Interesting points follow.

To speak of a few, “No unauthorised absence from national camps would be allowed... No one will be allowed entry into the camp… Leave of absence would be allowed only by prior permission of the head of the institute…”

The BAI then said that it would issue a document stating rules, responsibilities and duties of all campers in consultation with a committee consisting of BAI representatives, chief national coach, junior national coach and other eminent coaches.

It is understood that BAI wanted to wait until the Tokyo 2020 Olympics this year to introduce these guidelines. Since the Games has been postponed, BAI thought it prudent to introduce the dos and don’ts next month. Not just players and officials, even foreign and Indian coaches would be made more accountable.

Targets will be sought and given to players and coaches, evaluation would be made based on performances. A calendar would be finalised in advance in consultation with the chief coach. No last-minute withdrawals to be allowed. Playing for the country would take precedence. Playing nationals would be mandatory for all players.

Those closely associated with the game believe the need of the hour is a proper system, not just a set of rules. BAI should not let go of players without warning or action if they violate rules like they had done before. The number of stars in the sport is increasing and without guidelines defining an individual’s role and what is expected of them, it will be difficult to enforce discipline and accountability.

They need to know what kind of privileges they (junior and seniors) enjoy. What kind of permission they require to leave a camp or skip training. There should not be a situation that you ask for a trainer because the other player has got one.

These rules, however, should not be restricted to players alone but others — selectors, technical officials and support staff. Instead of any knee-jerk reaction to an individual’s attitude, the approach should be holistic and no one should feel it stifling.

In the end, players, coaches, selectors and technical officials should live in harmony to create something beautiful — a winning habit. That’s what the BAI is expected to strive for.

Sticky points

Exit of coaches

The departure of high-profile coaches, including Korea’s Kim Ji Hyun and Malaysia’s Kim Tan Her had raised eyebrows. Under Hyun’s watch, PV Sindhu had won a historic Worlds gold. Later, Hyun, who reportedly fell ill, said that nobody came to visit her at the hospital and called Sindhu  “heartless”. Doubles coach Her’s exit (18 months before his contract) was also a big blow. Doubles coach Flandy Limpele also made an exit. He had talked about bad attitude from players.

Awards furore

There were names doing rounds for the prestigious sports awards recently. Like other federations, BAI too made a few nominations. HS Prannoy was livid as he found his name missing. It later emerged that BAI had reportedly left him out on disciplinary grounds. Earlier this year, Kidambi Srikanth and Prannoy didn’t play in Badminton Asia Championship semifinals, denting India’s chances in the team event. They left for Barcelona before the event in Manila got over.

Service & returns

A glance at how top singles and doubles players fared in 2018 & 2019...

PV Sindhu

2018    

Best rank: 2

Lowest rank: 6
Won Worlds silver.

Reached All England semis. Got to five finals but didn’t win any.

2019   

Best rank : 3

Lowest rank: 6

Became a world champ, a first for India. However, she also failed to get past early rounds on several occasions, including All England.

Saina Nehwal

2018   

Best rank: 9

Lowest rank: 12
Reached Indonesia Masters finals, and beat PV Sindhu in CWG finals. But highlight of the year was reaching Denmark Open final after beating big names like Akane Yamaguchi and Nozomi Okuhara. But lost to Tai Tzu Ying in decider.

2019   

Best rank: 8

Lowest rank: 11

Solid start again. Reached Malaysia Masters semis and won Indonesia Masters. But couldn’t power on in later events. Suffered seven first-round defeats, leaving Olympic hopes in balance.

Kidambi Srikanth
 

2018  

Best rank: 1

Lowest rank: 9

Was expected to kick on after claiming four Superseries titles in 2017. Became World No 1 but couldn’t bring out A game. But he did reach semis of Malaysia and Denmark Open (both World Tour Super 750 events). Also won CWG silver.

2019  

Best rank: 7

Lowest rank: 13

Reached India Open final, but had a below-average year otherwise. That left him in a tricky spot in terms of Olympic qualification.

B Sai Praneeth

2018   

Best rank: 12

Lowest rank: 28

Reached World C’ships quarters. That outing apart, didn’t do much to write home about.

2019  

Best rank: 10

Lowest rank: 28

Went on to become first Indian male shuttler after Prakash Padukone to win Worlds medal (bronze). Did well to reach Japan Open semifinals and Swiss Open final.