This story is from November 21, 2017

‘Badminton meet in PU was totally unorganised’

‘Badminton meet in PU was totally unorganised’
Pratyush.Raj@timesgroup.com
Chandigarh: The 26th Krishna Khaitan All India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament started with a bang on November 13, as it witnessed a record 1,765 young shuttlers (both boys and girls) compete in the under-17 and under-19 age-groups.
National badminton coach and Dronacharya awardee Pullela Gopichand’s daughter Gayatri Pullela bagged the U-19 singles crown. The 14-year-old repeated her mother’s (PVV Lakshmi) feat who had won the same tournament 26 years back in 1991 in Chennai.
The positives apart, the chief match referee of the tournament Dr Satish Mallya was unhappy over the way the meet was conducted.

Delayed inauguration
Speaking to TOI, Mallya opened up about the difficulties he faced during the tournament. He revealed that loopholes were evident from the very first day, as the inauguration ceremony continued for hours followed by a two-hour power cut on the second day.
“Matches used to get stretched till 2 am. It took a toll on the health of not only the players, but also on the parents and the match officials,” said Mallya.

“Average time of one badminton match is about 30-35 minutes, but the organisers had not planned the fixtures properly due to which the entire scenario turned out to be very chaotic,” he added.
Left in the lurch
Mallya also complained about the lack of cooperation from the organisers of the event.
“There was dearth of supporting staff (during the tournament), and whenever I tried to raise the issue with the organisers, they just ignored me. Sometimes, they even told me to manage it by myself, which I found really disgusting,” said Mallya.
“The number of umpires were very less. If you go by the standard, there should be 25 umpires for 10 courts, but here I managed with 20 for 13 courts and that too at two different venues during the start of the tournament,” he went on to add.
He also mentioned how the two venues (PU badminton hall and Sector 43 badminton hall) had created a confusion among the parents and the players.
“There is no point of organising a tournament as big as this without providing proper facilities. Once they shifted the boys U-17 qualifying matches from the Sector 43 badminton hall to PU, the clueless parents came to me for help but I was also helpless,” continued Mallya.
“Their demands were valid as the organisers should have provided commuting facility. Players were playing their U-17 qualifiers at PU and then they had to rush to the Sector 43 badminton hall to play their U-19 matches, then again come back to PU for their next match. It was confusing as well as tiring for them and their parents as well.”
Lackadaisical attitude
Mallya also informed that there wasn’t a physiotherapist available at the venues. “I think it was a dangerous gamble but it paid off. Thank god no one got injured. It was a very casual approach on the part of the organisers.
“They should have at least appointed a couple of physiotherapists at both the venues. What if someone twisted his or her ankle or pulled up their hamstrings.
“Forget about the physiotherapists, there were no moppers available until the finals. Some players complained of slippery conditions on the court and even asked for a mopper, but again I was totally helpless,” said Mallya.
Mallya felt that a lackadaisical attitude towards the championship on the part of the organisers was the reason why the tournament was conducted in an unorganized manner. “They (the organisers) knew that it was going to be tough to organise such a big event. I even requested them to extend the tournament for a day, but they didn’t accept it and said it would be costlier,” stated Mallya.
However, Mallya also had some good things to say about the tournament. He heaped praise on talented youngsters like Gayatri, Dhruv Rawat, Purva Barve, Trisha Hedge and Garima Singh.
“Success in this tournament gives a huge impetus to the careers of young and talented shuttlers, it is the stepping stone towards national glory,” he said.
“I don’t know if I will return here next year since it depends on the Badminton Association of India (BAI). But yes, I would be very happy if they make the changes that I have suggested,” Mallya signed off.
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