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

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 championships in Dubai, we just had five accreditations for 12 players and we had to revolve those accreditations to play our matches. A lot of times, there is no transport during the International tournaments. We struggle for rooms as there is no timely booking," he said.

Sometimes a lot of entries are missed cause the email goes to the spam folder.

"We had incidents of shuttlers missing the entries cause the mail sent by BAI goes into the spam folder. Apart from this, a lot of the payments are made last moment to the organizers," he stressed.

Para Shuttlers share their concerns with Sports Minister

After returning from Paris, the para shuttlers met the Sports Minister and shared their concerns regarding the lack of attention from BAI.

"We have already met the sports minister and made him aware of our concerns. He has assured us of a firm action on the issue. As for me, the transfer from BAI to PCI will be the best option," said Nitesh.

Sources privy to the development confirmed to The Bridge that it is a collective decision and the top Indian para shuttlers have come together to raise this issue.

"It is a collective decision from the para shuttlers with the most prominent ones coming together to raise the voice," the source told The Bridge on the condition of anonymity.

The source also claimed that despite BAI being updated about all the matches from Paris, they hardly posted anything on Social Media.

Talking about the lack of social media visibility on BAI's handles, the source said," During the Paralympics, BAI was constantly being updated about the results from the venue. However, there were no updates from them about the Paralympics."

Earlier taking to X, Nitesh wrote, "Despite the occasional social media appreciation from @BAIMedia, we, the athletes, are highly dissatisfied with BAI’s lack of interest in para-badminton. We sincerely request @MediaSAI and BAI to hand over para-badminton to PCI, which has a better track record of supporting para-sports."