The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has unveiled a ₹9.75 crore annual plan to drive the growth of sport in the country.
Offering monthly retainers to former international coaches, doubling domestic tournament prize money and rewarding international medal-winning performances are part of BAI’s investment plan, PTI reports.
The decision was taken at BAI’s Annual General Body Meeting held in the national capital on Saturday, May 31.
Per the newswire, the federation has allocated ₹73 lakh to offer monthly retainers to Olympians and former internationals who are now training players at national camps, and has earmarked ₹2.22 crore as direct rewards for Indian shuttlers who win medals at prestigious global events.
Out of the ₹9.75 crore which BAI will spend annually for grassroots initiatives and to help state associations conduct domestic tournaments, the total prize pool and grant allocation for national tournaments stands at ₹3.8 crore.
Under the revised structure, annual grants to state associations have been increased from ₹7.5 lakh to ₹10 lakh. BAI will also provide additional support for organising national ranking tournaments across age groups — ₹3 lakh for U-15 and U-17 events, ₹ 2 lakh for Senior and U-19, and ₹1.5 lakh for U-13.
“Given the size of our country, one NCE was never going to be enough and hence we are providing grants to state associations to come up with development across the state and the current increase in grant will help them enhance their existing programs,” PTI quotes BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma as stating.
To enhance domestic competition, prize money for national ranking tournaments has been doubled. Senior national ranking events will now offer ₹10 lakh in prize money, while U-19 events will get Rs 8 lakh, U-15 and U-17 ₹12 lakh, and U-13 ₹6 lakh.
The total allocation for all National Championships has jumped from ₹2.13 crore to ₹3.2 crore, with the Senior Nationals alone seeing an increase from ₹75 lakh to ₹1 crore.
BAI has also made financial provisions for paying ₹1 lakh per month to Olympians and ₹50,000 per month to coaches who have represented the official Indian team in international events and are currently coaching at National Camps held across three locations.
To reward international excellence, a cash prize of ₹20 lakh will be given to a World Championship gold medallist, ₹10 lakh for a BWF Super 1000 title, and ₹50 lakh for a team gold at the senior level.
Junior team golds will attract ₹30 lakh, while individual gold medallists at junior World and Asian Championships will receive ₹15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh respectively.
“The needs of up-and-coming players, motivating them and providing them better financial incentives was critical for the development of the sport and chart out a pathway through which the future course,” the newswire further quotes Sarma as stating.
