Arif lashes out at BAI alleging it is killing talent

Hyderabad, May 24 (UNI) Former national coach S M Arif today lashed out at Badminton Association of India (BAI) alleging that it was ''backstabbing and troubling top national players''.

The Dronacharya Awardee told 'UNI' here that by stopping entries of top shuttlers for the IBF Super Series, BAI had ensured that their ranks fell below the qualifying mark, forcing them to play in the qualifying rounds.

''BAI had never spent a paisa on the players. It is always the Centre which is spending money on national camps and foreign tours.

On one hand, BAI is enjoying the patronage of the Centre and on the other, it is killing the talent,'' he alleged.

He said, ''Since the IBF wants all its member nations to send their top players for super series, it has no right to stop the players who want to play in the super series on their own. I can site the example of Roslin Hashim. The Malaysian sports ministry has asked their national badminton federation to pay the damages to Roslin, even after the Malaysian Badminton Association apologised.'' He said all age categories should not be clubbed in the name of national camp. ''Separate camps should be held for seniors, juniors and sub-juniors. National coaches should avoid using senior players to spoon feed the juniors and sub-juniors in the national camps,'' he added.

He said, ''At the moment, there is no sound coaching plan in the national camps. National coaches should organise two-week camps for senior players and not prolonged camps before official tournaments.

BAI should encourage talent, not kill it,'' he asserted.

He also criticised the badminton federation for adopting Chinese methods of grooming young talent.

''China takes care of every player. In case, anyone breaks down with injuries and loses his career, the Chinese government will look after them. Here, there is no such guarantee. BAI will just use the boys and girls and if they break down, throw them out'', he pointed out.

Commenting on news reports on lifting of ban on the top shuttlers to play in Super Series, he said, ''First, there is no ban.

Secondly, it is mandatory for BAI to send top players' for the super series. Thirdly, they need to clarify further that Thailand Open and Philippines Open are not official tournaments and there is no need for the players to join camps for these tournaments.'' UNI