Himanta Biswa Sarma unanimously elected as Vice President of Badminton Asia Confederation

What’s the story?

Badminton Association of India President, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been unanimously elected as Vice President of Badminton Asia Confederation.

In case you didn’t know…

Badminton Asia Confederation is the governing body for the sport in Asia. Dr. Sharma, has been unanimously elected as one of the Seven Vice Presidents and will serve under President Anton Aditya Subowo of Indonesia.

The heart of the matter

Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma was elected in Bangkok today during this year’s Badminton Asia Confederation’s (BAC) Annual General Meeting. He is replacing former BAI President Akhilesh Das Gupta, who passed away last year.

Badminton Asia currently has 43 members in the association, including India. BAC is the governing body of the sport in Asia, under the flagship of the Badminton World Federation.

Dr. Sarma, an Indian Politician and associated as a member with the Bharatiya Janata Party from May 2016 was unanimously elected as President of Badminton Association of India, on 23rd April, last year. He has also served as the President of the Assam Badminton Association.

“I would like to thank all the member bodies of BAC for instilling their faith in me. It is an honour and responsibility that I would like to deliver to the best of my capacities. I shall contribute my best to strengthen in the region and bring in better coordination among Asian countries,” Dr. Sarma said after the AGM.

General Secretary BAI, Mr Ajay Kumar Singhania said, “It is an extremely proud moment for all of us. This appointment will be a huge boost for Indian badminton as well in making BAI stronger than ever in Asia and help in further developing the sport in the country going forward.

What’s next?

The 2018 Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday, 19 May, in Bangkok. India along with 188 other member associations will gather to try and reach consensus on proposed initiatives to Enhancing Badminton’s Future.

Initiatives such as a new and enhanced scoring system of 5 sets to 11 points, reduction in on-court coaching and a service-law change to introduce a fixed height for serves will be discussed during the meeting.

Authors take

The appointment of Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma will make India’s representation stronger for the sport of badminton, which has been ever increasing in respect to popularity and talent. BAI, under Dr. Sarma recently signed a multi-crore deal with Yonex, strengthening the partnership with Yonex and providing financial stability for the organisation which will help in promotion and development of the sport in the country.