Frustrated with the lack of recognition and administrative wrangling within the Badminton Association of India (BAI), Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar has called for para badminton to be transferred under the aegis of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) for the sport's betterment and progress. The 29-year-old from Haryana, who secured a historic gold medal in the SL3 class at the Paris Paralympics, said para shuttlers needed to be treated on par with their able-bodied counterparts.
"We have won 21 medals at the Asian Para Games, around 14-15 medals at the World Championships, and 5 medals at the Paralympics, but we don't receive basic appreciation from BAI," Kumar told PTI.
"This isn't a new issue; it's a recurring problem. Their attention remains solely on able-bodied athletes, with minimal effort to promote para badminton." Kumar also expressed his dissatisfaction on social media after BAI congratulated the para shuttlers on their Paris performance via Twitter.
"Despite the occasional social media appreciation from @BAI_Media, we, the athletes, are highly dissatisfied with BAI's lack of interest in para badminton.
"We sincerely request @Media_SAI and BAI to hand over para badminton to PCI, which has a better track record of supporting para sports," Kumar wrote.
Irrespective of the social media appreciation from @BAI_Media (which is very rare),we the athletes are highly dissatisfied with the response & the interest from BAI regarding Para badminton responsibilities, we sincerely request BAI & @Media_SAI to handover para badminton to PCI https://t.co/IeiGcagD8Q
Kumar, an IIT Mandi alumnus, outlined several administrative issues affecting para shuttlers.
"There are significant administrative delays and inefficiencies.
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