Badminton officials sent own children on players' trip to Japan, says CBI probe

What’s the story?

A probe by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has found that officials from the Badminton Association of India (BAI) sent their own children and wards as part of what was supposed to be a sporting contingent to Japan in 2014.

Sources revealed to the press that these wards had posed as badminton players and undertaken the trip to Tokyo with members of the association as chaperones.

Heart of the Matter

India had been due to send a group of badminton players as part of a contingent for a Youth Sports Exchange Program with the Government of Japan in 2014, to promote what was described as “promoting Japanese culture and values among the youth of ASEAN countries.”

In that regard, the Japanese government agreed to sponsor a Youth Sports Exchange Program that would see 23 players and two supervisors sent to the country as part of an agreement between ASEAN nations.

In Case You Didn’t Know...

The entirety of the group that travelled to Tokyo was comprised of wards of officials from the BAI and the Delhi Capital Badminton Association or DCBA, instead of professional badminton players, despite stringent eligibility criteria ahead of the exchange.

The main criterion was that players must have had competitive experience at the local and regional levels in their respective countries – a criterion most of the members of the contingent did not meet.

BAI President Akhilesh Das, DCBA officials, then vice-president Harish Ahuja, secretary Apinder Sabherwal and Treasurer Kamal Thapar were all involved in the scam, with seven members of the 23-strong contingent comprised of their children.

With evidence of what it describes as “informal selection” for the contingent, the CBI has already contacted both the Delhi Capital Badminton Assocation and the BAI, recommending action against a number of officials.

The BAI is yet to respond.

What’s Next?

For now, officials at the DCBA have said that the BAI was consulted on multiple occasions, but that there would be no further comment, while the Badminton Association of India has yet to respond.

Sportskeeda’s Take

While distressing, the incident in question is entirely unsurprising. India in particular has had a murky history with corruption in sports, most staggeringly at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, following which an investigation uncovered serious corruption across the board in issuing contracts to a number of firms.

Former MLA Suresh Kalmadi stood trial in that case, with the CBI providing evidence sufficient to the cause that Kalmadi was found guilty of cheating and forgery to a loss of Rs. 900 million.

Incidentally, he was found guilty of corruption at the now-defunct Indian Grand Prix the following year.

Badminton has in recent years witnessed a rebirth with stellar performances from Saina Nehwal, K. Srikanth and most recently, Olympic silver medal winner PV Sindhu, making the damning findings all the more disappointing.

Shortly after Saina Nehwal’s bronze medal win at the London 2012 Olympics, the sport, which had not seen a big world star since the days of Pullela Gopichand, saw increasing interest and bigger audiences; Nehwal has also been a big figure in more youth taking up the sport in the country, so to hear that the association is not particularly supportive of the sport itself is disheartening, but as I said, not surprising.

Complaints of corruption and a lack of support have plagued multiple sports in the country, so if nothing else, the investigation is a positive step in remedying the ills of the issue at its roots.