Where did Rs 63 lakh go? BAI has no answer

In February 2010, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced a sponsorship deal with Chandigarh-based Sports Marketing and Merchandising firm, Premier Brands, which could have changed the face of Indian badminton. But an unprofessional approach and infighting means that the deal is all but over and any potential sponsor would think twice before striking a deal with the BAI hereafter. The three-year deal with Premier Brands was worth Rs 7.5 crore with the company paying the BAI Rs 2.5 crore each to facilitate annual contract with top shuttlers in the country on the lines of the Indian cricket board. Out of the Rs 2.5 crore, about Rs 50 lakh was to be used to increase the prize money for domestic tournaments. The company promptly paid the BAI the first installment of Rs 63 lakh and all those associated with the sport were hoping that the partnership would lead to more “professionalism” in the running of the sport. But one and half years after the deal was struck, not a single BAI official can explain where Rs 63 lakh have disappeared. According to the details given by outgoing treasurer Rajinder Kalsi to the BAI AGM on 2 July, the association does not have any money in its coffers and he is unable to submit the account for the last two years since he hasn’t been provided with any bills of expenditure from the president’s office (VK Verma was the president of BAI during that period). Kalsi’s submission has provided Verma’s detractors enough ammunition to blame everything on the former president, but not a single person is willing to talk about the way forward. And will the players get anything from the money that was paid to the association for the players sporting the Premier Brands logo in four tournaments in the last 16 months? According to the arrangement between the BAI and Premier Brands, the BAI was to give a graded contract to 20 players — 15 seniors and five juniors. The players were to be selected by a panel of experts that was to include former All England champion Prakash Padukone, former national coach U Vimal Kumar and country’s first Asian champion Dinesh Khanna. [caption id=“attachment_43881” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“With VK Verma (L) in jail over alleged irregularities in awarding contracts in his capacity as the Director General of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, the BAI members can continue to put the entire blame on him but no one is bothered about the players. Noah Seelam/AFP”] [/caption] But Padukone and Vimal Kumar declined to be part of the committee, as they did not want to get involved in the BAI muddle. Their decision proved right since the process never took off till the Commonwealth Games, with the administrators busy with their own politicking. Finally, when the list was made in December, the two stakeholders could not decide on the maximum and minimum slabs – the BAI wanted the top players to get big money while Premier Brands wanted the slabs to be between Rs 8 lakh to 16 lakh. However, the bigger dispute was over the utilisation of the Rs 63 lakh that was already paid to BAI. While the players were never paid anything, any queries over the issue were stone-walled saying the money was the association’s share and they were eventually spending it on players by sponsoring them for international tournaments since the government was not sponsoring any teams after Verma was elected president for the fourth time in June 2010. But ask anyone to provide details of these exposure trips and all fingers point to Verma, saying only he can answer questions relating to the issue. With Verma in jail over alleged irregularities in awarding contracts in his capacity as the Director General of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, the BAI members can continue to put the entire blame on him but no one is bothered about the players. While someone like Saina Nehwal or those who are supported by the Olympic Gold Quest movement may not feel the pinch of losing out on the money, the career graph of some other players could have taken a different trajectory. Right now, many players are struggling to raise enough funds to play more tournaments to improve their ranking which would ensure them entry in the Super Series or Grand Prix Gold events, which offer lucrative prize money and recognition. Instead, they spend considerable time trying to generate funds before every tour that not only hampers their preparation but also takes a toll on their pockets if they fail to raise the required amount. And the absence of Premier Brands from the sponsors’ list of BAI during the Badminton Asia Confederation Youth (under-19) Championship in Lucknow earlier this month has washed away any chances of these players getting financial help from the association in the near future.