Shuttlers allege lack of facilities

KOCHI: At a time when the popularity of badminton is rising across the country, the four-day state junior and veterans badminton championship that concluded on the Kannur University campus was conducted under appalling conditions, a letter sent to Sports Minister K B Ganesh Kumar says.The need of neither the game nor the players were taken into consideration in the organisation of the matches there, the participants and their parents alleged.Complaining of the disgusting facilities at the venue, 40 players and 19 parents have signed the letter dated September 3, a copy of which is with Express.Former state doubles champion Bose Ninan, who won the veterans doubles event this time partnering Bosco Spartan, told Express that the facilities were woeful at the venue.“It was as if the organisers wanted the state championship to be conducted just for the sake of it,” he said.“Since the court was a multi-purpose one, the lines of the badminton courts were not clearly visible. The stadium was windy and the court was slippery. The lighting was inadequate to hold proper badminton matches. There was no time schedule as in normal badminton tournaments either.”He said that even basic amenities were lacking at the venue. “The girls’ toilets neither had doors nor light. Sufficient amount of potable water was also not provided for the players at the venue,” he said.Another problem highlighted in the letter concerns travelling to the venue, nearly 16 kilometres away from the town.“Travel facilities were insufficient, especially when matches finished late in the evening,” he said.The letter further states that when the parents raised the issue with the Kerala Badminton Association vice-president Davis Sebastian, the latter took up the matter with the organising committee working chairman P K Jagannathan only to be treated inappropriately. “You can play if you want. We can provide only this much facility,” Jagannathan is reported to have said. However he denied having said so. “These are fabricated complaints”, he told Express. The complainants want the minister to pass an order to decide venues only after taking into consideration the drawbacks in the suggested venues.Meanwhile, the Kannur District Badminton Association secretary K Rajesh told Express that the issues resulted as the indoor stadium within the Kannur University campus was handed over just two days prior to the start of the tournament on September 1.“It is difficult to provide the same facilities as in the cities of Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Kannur is hosting the state championship for the first time. Also, we could not make proper arrangements as the venue was given to us at short notice. We tried our best to address the issues,” he said.Around 200 players took part in the competition. Arun George, Sharon Raphael, Shyam Prasad, Daya Elsa Jacob and Sneha Shathilal were among the top junior Indian shuttlers who competed in the championship.Copies of the complaint have been marked to the Kerala State Sports Council president and secretary, Kerala State Badminton Association secretary and the Kannur District Badminton Association secretary.The minister was unavailable for a comment. But it is learned that the organisers received a call from the minister’s office inquiring the exact state of  the matter.