BAI Chief Himanta Biswa Sarma Unveils ₹9.75 Cr Plan To Boost Indian Badminton
Driven by its vision to make India a global badminton powerhouse, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has announced a strategic investment of over ₹10 crore to identify, nurture, and develop talent across the country.
This bold step reinforces BAI’s continued commitment to building a world-class badminton ecosystem. As the only national sports federation to have implemented such a comprehensive structural investment, BAI has already laid a strong foundation with initiatives like the establishment of the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati. The current investment will further strengthen grassroots engagement, support state associations, incentivise former players to take up coaching roles, and reward international medal-winning performances — all while doubling domestic tournament prize money.
The decision to this effect was taken at the Association’s Annual General Body meeting held in New Delhi on Saturday under the chairmanship of president Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Based on the decisions taken at the AGM, BAI will invest over ₹9.75 crore each year in development of grassroot initiatives and helping state associations conduct domestic tournaments. The total prize pool and grant allocation for the national tournament stands at ₹3.8 crore. The association has also made financial provisions for paying ₹1 lakh per month to Olympians and ₹50,000 per month to coaches who have represented the official Indian team in international events and are currently coaching at National Camps held across three locations.
“But given the size of our country, one NCE was never going to be enough and hence we are providing grants to state associations to come up with development across the state and the current increase in grant will help them enhance their existing programs,” said BAI president after the AGM.
Beginning this year, the annual grant to state associations has been increased from ₹7.5 lakh to ₹10 lakh, while the prize money for national ranking tournaments for all age groups has also been doubled. BAI will also provide additional grants of ₹1.5 lakh to U-13 events and ₹2 lakh each for organisers of Senior and U-19 ranking tournaments and ₹3 lakh to organisers of Under-15 and Under -17 All India ranking events.
The total investment in all the National Championships have also been increased by over 50 percent, thereby incentivising state associations to host more national level events.
In the last few years, BAI has been investing a lot of effort and money in developing grassroots coaching and infrastructure through various initiatives like running coach certification programs, giving cash rewards to top performers.
Speaking about the increase in prize money for national ranking tournaments, Dr Sarma said looking after the needs of up-and-coming players, motivating them and providing them better financial incentives was critical for the development of the sport and chart out a pathway through which the future course.
Hereafter, the senior national ranking tournaments will have a prize purse of ₹10 lakh, U-19 national ranking (₹ 8 lakh), U-15 and U-17 national ranking (₹12 lakh) and U-13 national ranking events will have a prize pool of ₹6 lakh.
The total grant and prize money for all the National Championships was also increased from ₹2.13 crore to ₹3.2 crore.
The apex body also decided to make a special provision of substantial cash rewards for players who are making their mark on the international stage. A player/pair winning the BWF World Tour Super 1000 title will get a cash reward of ₹10,00,000, while a world championships gold medallist will be awarded a sum of ₹20,00,000 for their hard work and excellence. Even juniors will have a chance of winning handsome rewards if they win medals at the world and Asian championships with gold winners allocated a highest prize purse of ₹15,00,000 and ₹10,00,000 respectively.
Even a gold medal in senior team events will fetch a cash reward of ₹50 lakh while the juniors teams will get a reward of ₹30 lakh.
Major investment decisions taken by BAI AGM:
Increased Annual Grant to State Associations
Description
Previous Grant
Revised Grant
Annual Grant to State Associations
₹7.5 lakh/year
₹10 lakh/year
Additional Grant for Organising National Ranking Tournaments
ournament Category
Additional Grant
Senior Ranking
₹2,00,000
U-19 Ranking
₹2,00,000
U-15/U-17 Ranking
₹3,00,000
U-13 Ranking
₹1,50,000
Prize Money for National Ranking Tournaments
Tournament Category
Previous Prize Money
Revised Prize Money
Senior Ranking
₹5,00,000
₹10,00,000
U-19 Ranking
₹4,00,000
₹8,00,000
U-15/U-17 Ranking
₹6,00,000
₹12,00,000
U-13 Ranking
₹3,00,000
₹6,00,000
National Championships – Prize Money and Grant Allocation
Tournament
Previous Total (₹)
Revised Total (₹)
Senior Nationals
₹75 lakh
₹1 crore
Junior (U-19) Nationals
₹35 lakh
₹70 lakh
U-15/U-17 Nationals
₹40 lakh
₹75 lakh
U-13 Nationals
₹25 lakh
₹30 lakh
U-11 Nationals
₹5 lakh
₹7 lakh
Veteran Nationals
₹33 lakh
₹38 lakh
Total
₹213 lakh
₹320 lakh
Financial support for Indian coaches training national campers
Eligibility: Coaches who have represented official Indian team at Internationals and are currently coaching national campers
-Olympians Coaching at National Camps: ₹1,00,000 per month
-Other official Indian International Coaches Training at National Camps : ₹50,000 per month
Hereafter, the senior national ranking tournaments will have a prize purse of ₹10 lakh, U-19 national ranking (₹ 8 lakh), U-15 and U-17 national ranking (₹12 lakh) and U-13 national ranking events will have a prize pool of ₹6 lakh.
