BAI launches age rectification scheme to fight age fraud issues

The Badminton Association of India announced a voluntary age rectification scheme (VARS) for already registered players here on Monday.

To fight age fraud issues, BAI is implementing stringent rules for the current players. In a circular issued to all the state associations, BAI mentioned that this scheme will allow players with existing BAI IDs but the incorrect date of birth and/or discrepancy in their Date of Birth / Age.

The players can rectify their correct date of birth within a specified window of 20 days starting from 6th June 2023 till 25th June 2023.

The players who fail to avail of this opportunity and are found guilty after twenty days are over will be penalized including two years ban on the player and FIR against the parents along with stripping of medals and sponsorships.

If a player avails VARS and is still found guilty will be banned for five years.

Under the VARS, players falling under various scenarios will have the opportunity to rectify their age records before June 25, 2023.

The cases are classified as follows:

Scenario 1:

- Date of Registration within 1 year of Date of Birth

- Sub-Scenario: Born at an Institution (Hospital, Health facility, Nursing home, etc.)

- Case Type: A1

Scenario 2:

- Date of Registration within 1 year of Date of Birth

- Sub-Scenario: Born at House, Public Place, Hotel, Dharamshala, hostel, Moving vehicle, or any other place not covered in Case Type A1

- Case Type: A2

Scenario 3:

- Date of Registration more than 1 year of Date of Birth

- Sub-Scenario: Born at an Institution (Hospital, Health facility, Nursing home, etc.)

- Case Type: B1

Scenario 4:

- Date of Registration more than 1 year of Date of Birth

- Sub-Scenario: Born at House, Public Place, Hotel, Dharamshala, hostel, Moving vehicle, or any other place not covered in Case Type B2

- Case Type: B2

Scenario 5:

- Adopted

- Case Type: Child C1

Scenario 6:

- Foreign Born Nationals

- Case Type: D1

To discourage fraudulent cases, the BAI has established penalties for proven age fraud. The Age Fraud Committee, authorized by BAI, will determine the appropriate quantum of penal action against guilty players. The recommended penal actions will be executed by the Secretary of BAI.

Indian badminton has witnessed rampant age fraud in the past few years. Big names the likes of Lakshya Sen, Aakarshi Kashyap, Dhruv Kapila, and many others have found themselves amid such allegations.

In 2019, a writ petition was filed in court by 37 parents whose children said they quit the sport after losing to over-age players.

Their petition highlighted that according to Badminton Association of India (BAI) records, several of the country's top junior players were born at home, while some joined school before they even started walking.

Even this year, an all-India U13 tournament in Mohali saw protests from parents against two Rajasthan-born children who had allegedly manipulated their age, leading to their suspension.

With such SOPs, BAI will hope that the issue is tackled and the game is played on the court in all fairness