The shuttlecock’s stuck in the racket
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Badminton, rated as a potential medal-winning sport internationally, has yet to achieve any notable feat. It is in a sort of a mess locally, with fractions within the fraternity pointing fingers at one another for the sport’s current status. Over the years, Badminton has grown in popularity but, has failed to add quality for unknown reasons. Let’s ask the insiders why?
Parent (Who is staying
anonymous due a ban on
parents making statements)
“I am sad I had to make a statement to the media without disclosing my identity. The SLBA does not have a clear vision for the development of the sport in the country. This is very clear if one considers the situation in domestic as well as their plans for international events. The standard of Badminton has declined drastically because of their negligence. Even the current players involved in the sport are really disappointed with the situation. Even I am regretting now for encouraging my son to play Badminton. Not only the players but, the Badminton coaches too are disappointed with the stubborn attitude of the SLBA. The current regime does not have any targets or goals to achieve, and their only concern is to survive from day to day. The National Pool which was maintained for the past 10 months has now been disbanded for no reason.
The SLBA conducts selection trials whenever they feel it is required. Sometimes, those who participate in the trials are omitted, while those who did not turn up for the trials are included. I feel Badminton may be the only sport in the country, which is conducted without any discipline. Even the senior players as well as the officials are the same, as they do not have any discipline. The officials are silent when senior players behave indecently. However, the junior players are punished even for the slightest mistake, by the SLBA. The SLBA officials are really scared of the senior players. We had quite a number of players who could have won medals at the recent South Asian Games (SAG) held in India. But due to lack of proper training, we could not make an impact. Although we fielded seven players, we managed to win only two Silver and six Bronze.
Despite having a long history in the game, we were unable to win a Gold medal. The present administration has enforced stern rules and regulations to the players as well as their parents. If a parent criticises the SLBA, the particular player will be punished severely. If anyone wants to meet the Sports Minister, that person need to get prior permission from the SLBA Secretary. All these are done to cover up the wrongdoings of the SLBA. The current administration is run by an individual for his personal agenda. We had a good Malaysian Coach, but he had to leave the country due to death threats. We have a National Coach but, he does not receive any support from the SLBA. Although we have world ranking players in the country, what’s the point if we cannot win a SAG Gold Medal.”
Chinthaka Fernando (Former National Junior Coach)
I think Badminton is in total ruin in the country though not because of the players or the coaches. It is mainly due to negligence in its administration and corrupt officials who are power hungry to remain at the helm to fulfil their personal goals. The Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) is only keen on sending players for overseas tournaments without considering the standard of those tournaments. We will not improve just by sending players to compete in these tournaments. The SLBA, usually, receives a grant from the organisers before competing in these tournaments. However, the SLBA has made it a habit to abuse that advantage by sending about 20-25 players through their own funds, and they eventually return home with no success. I can’t find a long term or, even a short term plan for the SLBA. At the moment, there isn’t anyone in the SLBA capable of setting up one.
SLBA President, Suraj Dandeniya requested the media not to criticise him for 6 months, when he was re-elected for the second time at the AGM. He promised to show results by setting up a good development plan for the sport. Today, what has he done? Our No.1 player Niluka Karunaratne managed to participate at the Olympics, once again courtesy of the National Olympic Committee and the Sports Ministry. What did the SLBA do on Niluka’s behalf? The SLBA and Niluka were involved in a confrontation for a long period. The SLBA cannot even find a proper sponsor for their tournaments. However, the Western Province Badminton Association (WPBA) has found a good sponsor and are conducting tournaments quite successfully. The WPBA has sent 4 players to India for a month’s training. Can the SLBA perform this kind of task? The players for international tournaments are picked just overnight.
We do not have a 2nd string lineup after Niluka and Dinuka Karunaratne. Those days we had players such as Niroshan Wijekoon, Udaya Weerakoon, Duminda Jayakody and Prasanna Gunathilaka who were outstanding. Today, we can’t find any outstanding player coming forward to represent the National Team. There is also political interference in the sport. I remember the SLBA’s National Selection Committee resigned ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. That was because an unqualified player was included in to the squad by the Sports Minister. The SLBA President then was once again Suraj Dandeniya. The sport is a total disaster because of political interference. There is no discipline among the officials as well as the players. There is no clear vision for these officials to develop the sport. The present head of the SLBA should be held totally responsible for this tragedy.
Suraj Dandeniya (President- SLBA)
I agree the sport is at a low level. I am really disappointed with the present situation regarding the sport in this country. I think the main reason for this is because our junior players are not keen on making an impact at international level. Although we have set up a good plan for these junior players to improve, their parents are not sufficiently supportive to fulfil the task. Their main goal is to represent the school from Under-15 to Under-19, make a couple of overseas tours and then obtain Sri Lanka School Colours. That will also help their cause to enter University. We have allocated more funds than the Cricket Board has done, to develop Badminton in the country. We have also got 2 generous sponsors in MAS Holdings and Alliance.
Badminton players don’t need to spend a cent for their participation and are well taken care of, both at home and overseas. However, the junior players do not attend practices regularly. They also skip physical fitness training sessions. We have to go behind them instead. Our Badminton players have visited almost every country in the wold. We have made it a point to send a team for every international tournament. If one could examine their passports, it’s clear these Badminton players have visited more countries than the Foreign Minister has done. They do not have any sponsorship issues and are employed at established companies. I don’t think anyone can challenge or compare the loyalty that players such as Niluka and Diluka Karunaratne possess for the sport, unlike some of the other players.
We disbanded the 8-member National Badminton Pool on August 31, because the players were not attending training sessions. We cannot maintain a National Pool if the players are not interested. We have a National Coach but, he is unable to prepare a squad for an international event. He has not even produced a National level player. We have about 5-6 National level coaches in the country. We will have to spend at least US$ 3,000 per month if we are to get down a foreign Badminton coach. Even then, he will not be sufficiently qualified to coach top players in the calibre of Niluka Karunaratne and Dinuka Karunaratne. We got down a coach from South Korea to train Niluka for 3 week’s, in preparation for the Rio Olympics, and we paid him Rs 1 million.
It will cost us US$ 10,000 per month if we are to get down a fully qualified coach. Parental interference is another major obstacle for the development of the game. Even former Badminton players have caused us trouble by misleading the junior players. The Badminton administration is under pressure because of their interference. We have spent Rs 25 million on the sport, annually. This is a combination of sponsors, Sports Ministry, SLBA and parents. We had a lot of issues with Niluka Karunaratne earlier, but now, we have got together for the sake of developing Badminton in the country. We can move forward confidently with the Karunaratne family who are genuinely love the game. We have a very good plan for the future and we are targeting a medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. We are totally united to accomplish these goals in the coming years. I know many will not like the Karunaratne family rejoining the SLBA.
Priyantha Wijesekera (Former National player 1969-84, Chairman- Selection Committee, 2014)
I think, the current Badminton administration is going from bad to worse. As a result, the standard of Badminton in Sri Lanka has also declined. The sport is currently dominated by just 1 person, and the SLBA is banking heavily on Niluka Karunaratne. It is true that Karunaratne is still Sri Lanka’s No.1 player. No one has been able to beat him in the recent past. But we should realize that he is also ageing with every day. Although the SLBA has expended a lot of money on him, the results have been quite disappointing. Even for the Olympics, he went as a wild-card entry, not as a qualified player. We should encourage players such as Buwanaka Gunathilake and Sachin Dias to build up a 2nd string lineup. But they are also disappointed with the current situation in the country. The reason is because of some shortcomings within the SLBA.
We cannot think about Badminton after the retirement of Karunaratne. We should target the standard of India’s No.10 player, instead of attempting to reach world standards. Twenty years ago, Sri Lanka and India were on equal terms, but now, India has made vast strides and are well ahead. We have stagnated in one place. We should learn from India, and take it as a good example for the future. Our Badminton players have similar physique to some of the Indian players, and it would be quite easy for the local administration to try and follow the Indian style of playing the game. Although we have a lot of talented players, they are not identified in a proper manner.
What the SLBA is trying now is to pick a couple of players and spend a huge amount of funds on their development work, which has not produced the desired results. The SLBA, NOC and the Sports Ministry should be directly responsible for the drop in standard of the sport. There is a Badminton mafia in place at the moment. The political interference is too much for the sport. We should remove all political interference currently involved with the sport. We can now see the SLBA President acting wisely, after having learned from his previous mistakes. This is a good sign for the sport.