Russia – Badminton’s next big destination?

Russian supremo Vladimir Putin and second-in-command Dmitry Medvedev playing badminton(Image credit: wiki)

It appears that Russia has developed a love affair with badminton.

The sport had been introduced into the school curriculum after a two-year study revealed that playing badminton could reduce the deterioration of eyesight caused by computers, according to a report in R-Sport.

It may be recalled that an official video of Russian supremo Vladimir Putin and second-in-command Dmitry Medvedev playing badminton was posted in October of 2011, with then-President Medvedev praising the health benefits of the sport. “People who play badminton are those who make quick decisions,” Medvedev said. “People play badminton in just about every country on our planet… we also play badminton and I think this is a very good thing. It’s very helpful, because this game helps, like all sports, develop physical form, perception of distance, sharpness in reactions.”

Medvedev even said the government should promote badminton in schools, universities and “in general wherever it is possible to play it”.

A month later, in November 2011, a report in Izvestiya newspaper stated that the Russian defence ministry had decided to impart badminton training to its entire army, in order to make it more battle-ready. The report said that the ministry was planning to buy 10,000 badminton rackets and tens of thousands of shuttlecocks, since “the same muscles are used during a game of badminton as those used when throwing grenades, knives and other objects,” the newspaper quoted Colonel Alexander Shchepelev, the head of the defence ministry’s physical preparation department, as saying. “That’s why this sport is very useful for all servicemen without exception. But it will be especially useful for riflemen and snipers, since following the shuttlecock trains the eye muscles, strengthens the cardiovascular system and develops reaction speed.”

Although the ministry later denied the report, Izvestiya stood by its story.

The lucky bronze that Russia won at the Olympics last year (after four top women’s doubles teams were disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct) seems to have had a positive effect on the sport in the country.

The latest report in R-Sport quoted the National Badminton Federation of Russia as saying that the national two-year study of badminton’s effect in strengthening eye muscles had yielded impressive results, and helped introduce it to the sports curriculum in Russian schools. The report said that the study was met with “enthusiasm” by the Badminton World Federation, which was apparently considering promoting Russia’s ‘Badminton and Vision’ program among its member federations. “If they (BWF) accept it, and the program is developed, then there will be no need to worry about whether there will be badminton at the Olympics after Rio de Janeiro,” Sergei Shakhrai, president of the Russian Badminton Federation, was quoted as saying by R-Sport.

If Russia, with its resources and lobbying power at the international level, does take badminton seriously, the sport can rocket to a different level altogether. “Why does everyone want to work with us? Because they see that in Russia big changes are happening,” chairman of the Russian badminton federation Andrei Antropov was quoted as saying.