BAI Proposes Salary Hike To Retain Badminton Coaches
BAI has been preparing a joint proposal with SAI to combat the increasing outflow of badminton coaches in India by rewarding them better pecuniary compensations. BAI To Increase Coaches’ Salary Most high-profile coaches of Indian badminton have fled the system owing to meagre financial compensation over the years. While there are more homegrown coaches than before, many leave for better opportunities. The BAI and SAI are working on a plan to retain those coaches and are keen on having a salary hike as part of the proposal. Former Players Join Coaching Ranks Through BAI Initiative In the last three years, leading players-turned-coaches have moved into full-time coaching positions. These include Parupalli Kashyap and RMV Gurusaidutt. They are currently training top men’s singles players such as H. S. Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth and Priyanshu Rajawat under chief national coach Pullela Gopichand. They are also mentoring youngsters such as Tharun Mannepalli, Anmol Kharb, Anuradha Upadhyaya, and Rakshitha Ramraj. Impact Of BAI On Men’s Doubles Coach Former Indian men’s doubles pair Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, who have played in major competitions like Asian Games and Olympics, have now taken up the job of coaching young men’s doubles talent with a foreign coach in the form of Tan Kim Her at events like India Open. Lack Of Financial Compensation To Coaches The problem is that most of the experienced coaches are leaving because of the lack of financial compensation. For example, Mohammed Siyadatullah Siddiqui, who was coaching Saina Nehwal and Srikanth, moved to Oregon Badminton Academy in the U.S. last year. Also, World Championships bronze medalist and Tokyo Olympian B Sai Praneeth decided to hang his boots from competitive badminton and coach at a US club in March 2024. Arun Vishnu, the man behind stars Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly’s rise, went back to Nagpur recently to take care of his elderly father-in-law. Coaches Highlight Financial Disparity Arun said that in the US, coaches earn between USD 8,000-10,000 per month. Indian coaches working with public sector undertakings (PSUs) earn around Rs 50,000 per month. The difference is more starkly evident now with the Paris Olympics around the corner. The Issue Of Inclusion Of Ex-Players Into BAI’s Structure It is not clear why players as senior as those of Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhat, Chetan Anand or Jwala Gutta – all of whom were former players and hence better positioned within the system — are not involved in the structure of national coaches. Most of them have set up their own academies subsequently. Sridhar, who used to be a coach of Lakshya Sen and of PV Sindhu, is known to have been promoted as men’s singles head coach to the Singapore Badminton Association. BAI Proposal For Sustainable Coaching In The Future To avoid loss of talent beyond that and making a future more sustainable, this BAI’s proposal works to give financial appeal to coaching positions such that experienced coaches may be retained in the national set up. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
BAI Announces Cash Rewards for Para Shuttlers
Indian para shuttlers have been announced cash rewards by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) as a token of appreciation over their triumph at Paris Paralympics 2024. India has won five medals in badminton. This has been its best-ever show in the Paralympics till date. For the first time, Indian women stood on the Paralympic badminton podium. Medal Winners Shine in Paris Nitesh Kumar set the tone of success by bagging a gold in the Men’s Singles SL3. Suhas Yathiraj similarly repeated his Tokyo success to win a silver in the Men’s Singles SL4 category. Indian women shuttlers won medals in the Paralympics for the first time. Thulasimathi Murugesan won silver in the Women’s Singles SU5 category, while Manisha Ramadass came in with a bronze in the same category. In the SH6 category, Nithya Sre Sivan completed the tally with a bronze. Cash Awards for Outstanding Performances State Sports Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also heads the BAI as Chief Minister of Assam, announced a total cash prize of INR 50 lakh for medal winners. Nitesh Kumar bagged INR 15 lakh for gold medal. Suhas and Thulasimathi will get INR 10 lakh each as they won the silver medal. Manisha and Nithya will receive INR 7.5 lakh each for bronze medallist. The BAI assures commitment to the development of Para Badminton Secretary General Sanjay Mishra of BAI mentioned consistent performances from India’s para-badminton players at international arena. According to him, cash prizes were one of the ways BAI would pay a tribute to all such efforts by these players into India’s Paralympic success story. Mishra also said that BAI continued to work in the directions that are responsible for the growth of para-badminton, which included many means of support to the players. He added that a virtual meeting with them will be conducted in order to thank them and get to know the further support and action required for their development in the future. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
