Badminton: Olympic preparations at Gopichand Academy hampered due to lack of shuttles (Reports)

In the recent past, badminton has emerged as a major sport for India. While PV Sindhu created history with her Silver medal at the Rio Olympics, as the days count down to the Tokyo Olympics, Badminton will be one sport that will face scrutiny on account of being a possible chance for an Olympic medal. However, at Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, where the Indian national team trains, Olympic preparations threaten to come to a halt as reported by Times of India. According to the TNN Report, the Academy is struggling due to a lack of shuttles which is in turn hampering the players as well. Reportedly, the players at the National Camp have not been receiving the equipment from the Badminton Association of India (BAI) since March 2018. Each player needs a minimum of six shuttles for a day's training. A barrel of shuttles cost 2,500 INR and contains a total of 12 shuttles. The problem seems to be a lack of communication between BAI and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) wherein the former wants to use only one particular kind of shuttle but has objected to making a formal request to SAI which would require putting it on paper. On the international circuit, most tournament organisers use Yonex AS 50 shuttles which is the kind that BAI wants to provide its players with at the Gopichand Academy. However, putting it down on paper might lead to legal issues with brands like Li Ning and Viktor who also sponsor a few prominent Indian Badminton stars. According to a source at SAI by TOI, this is what was said on the matter, "We have requested them to provide some documents but they have not given them so far." TOI also spoke to a source at BAI who dismissed the matter by saying that players would be getting shuttles "soon". "As of now, we are buying it locally and from some other clubs but it is difficult to continue this way," a source at the Gopichand Academy was quoted as saying by TOI. We hope the effects of training being hampered are definitely not long term and things get back on track soon with a larger interest and goal of Tokyo 2020 in mind.