BAI disaffiliates Karnataka Badminton Association with immediate effect

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has disaffiliated the Karnataka Badminton Association (KBA) with immediate effect. The disaffiliation of KBA was due to non-revision of the constitution and not following the BAI guidelines regarding the affiliation process.

BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra communicated to KBA general secretary P Rajesh Reddy in a letter on July 13, 2022, regarding its immediate disaffiliation.

According to a letter written by Sanjay Mishra on Wednesday, the BAI had made several communications earlier but KBA did not respond. After repeated efforts, BAI had no option but to make this tough decision to disaffiliate KBA.

BAI had asked KBA to revise its constitution in line with the other affiliated units of the national governing body of sports in India, and had given them a four-month period to do so. BAI has done various communications in the past but the KBA did not pay any attention to it.

On March 3, 2022, BAI had clearly told KBA to amend its constitution in four months to avoid disaffiliation. A copy of that letter was also marked to the Government of India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as well as to the Sports Ministry of Government of Karnataka.

In a letter to KBA secretary Rajesh Reddy, Mishra said:

“Instead of revising the constitution within four months which ends on July 4, 2022, you have forwarded an email on July 4, 2022. You have informed us that you want to create another organization called Karnataka Badminton Association - Badminton Management Committee with the existence of KBA as well. It’s a cumbersome policy and not as per norms.”

Karnataka is one of the most powerful badminton states in the country along with Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam and Kerala.

See the complete list of the countries participating at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Sanjay Mishra added in the letter:

“In view of the above, it has been decided to disaffiliate KBA with immediate effect. You may apply for re-affiliation once the KBA constitution has been revised, in line with our suggestions and as per norms.”

However, BAI will protect the interest of the Karnataka players until this problem is resolved.

Sanjay Mishra said:

“In the meantime, to avoid any suffering for players, they may directly apply to BAI to participate in all the tournaments.”

A copy of the letter has also been marked to BAI President Himanta Biswa Sarma, BAI treasurer Arun Lakhani and chief national coach Pullela Gopichand.

The letter has also been marked to BAI Vice-President Sekhar C Biswas, Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, IAS Additional Chief Secretary to the Govt of Karnataka and Secretary of the Govt of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

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Badminton Association of India upset with the KBA acting as a club as well as a state unit

According to sources, the bone of contention is KBA’s dual role which is against the norms of the BAI.

A source in the KBA told Sportskeeda on Thursday (July 14):

“KBA works as a club and also as a state unit. This is perhaps the only state association in India that does both functions. It doesn’t fit well into the constitution of BAI. Since KBA is club-centric, various districts of Karnataka do not get proper representation in the executive committee. If you look, other districts apart from Bengaluru do not hold any badminton tournaments.”

Due to the different policies of KBA, district representation is minimal, which has not gone down well with the BAI.

The source added:

“Other districts are not getting affiliation. KBA club members cannot be a state body. Most KBA decisions are club-driven, which is not right in the interest of badminton. Each and every district in the state should be a part of the state unit. The executive body of any state should comprise members from every district. Since KBA is handled by a club, membership issues are there which affect the working and development of the game in the region.”

The Karnataka badminton fraternity is expecting the KBA to act immediately so that game isn't hampered in the future.