MOHALI: Parents protesting against the participation of suspected overage shuttlers at the All India U-13 ranking badminton tournament here occupied the Field of Play (FOP), forcing the main round proceedings to be cut short with just 21 matches being played on the day.
Many of the aggrieved parents, even the ones whose children failed to go past the qualifying rounds on Thursday, returned to the venue at the Shivalik Public School in Mohali, where they began protesting against the Badminton Association of India (BAI).
Slogans against BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra were also heard while a few met the BAI observer and Arunachal State Badminton Association (ASBA) secretary, Bamang Tago, who landed in the city on Friday.
Tago gave a patient hearing to the parents, who demanded immediate suspension of the suspected overage players. He also made an appeal to the parents to step out of the playing area but his words fell on deaf ears.
This forced the organizing committee to suspend the schedule till the proposed meeting between the parents and Mishra at the same venue on Saturday.
“BAI has not rejected the claims of the parents, these are serious allegations. There will be appropriate action against those found guilty of age-fudging,” Tago told TOI.
“But if one is asking for instant judgement, we’re sorry. There can’t be a judgement without proper investigation. BAI can’t be forced to pass any order or ban any player without a thorough investigation. The suspected players are already playing under protest,” he added.
Will the tournament be held? “Yes. There is no going back on that. We are having age- group competitions after a two-year hiatus. This is just the start of the season. There will be 2-3 more tournaments where the genuine players can earn rankings,” he said.
The ASBA secretary hoped Saturday’s meeting between the parents and BAI secretary would help resolve the crisis. “The BAI secretary has already directed the chief referee to make a list of the suspected players. Their details will be scrutinized by the panel, which includes state secretaries. We don’t want the genuine players to suffer and from BAI’s side, be assured the guilty will face the heat after the investigation,” he signed off.
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