NEW DELHI: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has awarded cash incentives totalling Rs 13 million to members of the Indian badminton contingent that won medals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
At a ceremony in the capital, BAI president Himanta Biswas Sarma and chief guest of the event, Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra presented all the cheques.
“It gives me immense pleasure to be here to celebrate the heroics of our players at the Commonwealth Games. They have not only created history but have once again underlined India’s reputation as one of the top performers globally,” IANS quotes Sarma as having said.
“We would like to thank the government, Sports Authority of India and the BAI for all their support over the last few years. I thank the president for organising such a wonderful function to appreciate the team’s performance,” national team coach Pullela Gopichand said.
India’s first ever Gold medal win in the mixed team event resulted in each player of the team receiving Rs 500,000 each.
Saina Nehwal, the women’s Gold medallist in the individual event was awarded Rs 2 million while PV Sindhu and World No 1 Men’s player Kidambi Srikanth received cheques for Rs 1 million each for winning Silver in their respective events.
The young men’s doubles pair of Rankireddy Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty, who created history by becoming the first ever men’s doubles team from India to win a medal in the CWG, were awarded Rs 1.5 million (Rs 750,000 each).
The women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy were also given Rs 750,000 (Rs 375,000 each) for their Bronze medal winning feat.
The entire coaching staff was also honoured for their contributions. Pullela Gopichand was rewarded with Rs 1 million while doubles foreign coach Tan Kim Her was given Rs 300,000.
Assistant coach Siyadathullah Siddiqui was given Rs 150,000 while all the physiotherapists were awarded Rs 100,000 each for their efforts.
At the event, BAI also announced a national training camp for youth during the months of June and July to be held at the Padukone-Dravid Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
A total of 120 kids (boys and girls included) from across the country in the Under-13 and Under-15 age groups will take part in the camp. Each state federation will nominate four players and 16 kids will be shortlisted for further training. The top players will be chosen to train abroad.
The camp will be conducted in three batches of 40 players each under the mentorship of badminton legend Prakash Padukone. Padukone will be assisted by Vimal Kumar, retired badminton star and Nehwal’s erstwhile personal coach. Junior national coach Sanjay Mishra will be the convenor of the initiative.
BAI general secretary Ajay K Singhania, said: “BAI’s aim is to not only excel internationally but also to reach out to every corner of the country to tap fresh talent. The involvement of a top notch former player like PrakashPadukone will only bolster the movement to find the best future crop for India.”
