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Twelve gamers had been chosen and despatched to signify India, however solely six had been allowed to compete as officers did not submit all names accurately in the course of the managers’ assembly on July 16.
“This is not just mismanagement – it’s career sabotage. We demand answers, accountability, and that our voices be heard. We didn’t lose a match — we lost our right to even participate,” wrote Alisha Khan, one of many gamers ignored, on Instagram.
“This isn’t just a mistake. It’s career sabotage by AIU and our team officials. We demand justice.” According to sources, BV Rao and Ajit Mohan had been the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) officers who attended the assembly. The AIU, which is the nodal physique for university-level sports activities within the nation, acknowledged the incident.
“We have been informed about this and the matter is being investigated,” AIU Secretary Dr Pankaj Mittal informed PTI whereas refusing to remark any additional.
According to a supply, the difficulty was not simply an error however stemmed from “systematic irregularities” ranging from the choice trials held at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar.
“During the managers’ meeting, officials were given a letter listing all 12 players from India. It was their responsibility to read it carefully, check for missing or injured players, and confirm or adjust the names accordingly. However, they took it lightly,” the supply stated.
“The names of players who hadn’t attended trials were there. They came here only to enjoy. In the meeting, they also made a basic mistake. They were supposed to declare which player would play singles, doubles, and mixed, but didn’t process it properly.” Saneeth Dayanand, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, Devika Sihag, Tasnim Mir, Varshini Viswanath Sri, and Vaishnavi Khadkekar had been the six who competed within the combined crew occasion.
India defeated Macau however misplaced to Hong Kong within the group stage, then beat the USA within the spherical of 16 and Malaysia within the quarterfinals earlier than shedding to Chinese Taipei within the semifinals.
Rohan Kumar, Darshan Pujari, Aditi Bhatt, Abhinash Mohanty, Viraj Kuvale, and Alisha Khan had been a part of the 12-member squad however didn’t get to play.
Pujari has written to the Badminton Association of India (BAI), demanding an intensive investigation.
“This stage of mismanagement has triggered important emotional misery to the affected athletes, particularly when Team India went on to win a historic medal on the Games. The gamers who had been ignored of the nomination listing have been unfairly denied the prospect to contribute on the sector and be acknowledged as a part of this achievement,” he wrote in his e-mail.
“To date, there was no accountability or concrete clarification supplied by the managers. A mere apology can not suffice at this stage of worldwide illustration, the place the careers, goals, and morale of athletes are at stake.
“Through this e-mail, I respectfully urge the involved authorities to take this matter significantly, conduct an intensive evaluation, and be certain that such avoidable and damaging incidents are by no means repeated sooner or later.” Expressing frustration over the incident and apathy of the Indian officers, a participant stated, “It’s a historic achievement that our crew gained a bronze with simply six gamers, however that certificates and medal will change their lives, not ours, after we had been purported to be there as a crew.
“The irritating factor is the officers don’t even admit their errors or present any regret,” he stated on situation of anonymity.
“The AIU can at the very least situation certificates acknowledging all 12 as crew members to guard our profession prospects and rights.” The choice trials had been held in April at KIIT, Bhubaneswar, with over 210 gamers, together with top-tier nationwide and worldwide college athletes, taking part.
However, the supply alleged that the gamers who truly topped the trials had been ignored of the combined crew occasion regardless of being a part of the squad.
“The crew supervisor made the blunder. The officers didn’t focus in the course of the assembly, and after the trials they didn’t observe the correct course of. They simply submitted six names, so the opposite six weren’t allowed by FISU,” the supply stated.
“I don’t know whether or not to name it a technical error or sheer misfortune. Entries had been mailed, confirmations acquired, the crew travelled all the way in which, and but within the supervisor’s assembly they missed out names. I don’t know the way it’s doable to miss such a fundamental duty.
“Players have been misled all through. Now that they couldn’t stand on the rostrum, officers are giving them false hopes about participation and medals within the particular person occasions. The gamers labored actually laborious, and if they’re robbed of their likelihood like this, it’s unacceptable.” A participant additionally alleged that officers goofed up the crew jerseys, resulting in a high-quality, a difficulty highlighted by Pujari in his letter as effectively.
“They printed full names as a substitute of surnames, and the jerseys didn’t carry the nation title correctly. The crew was fined 1000 euros per match for incorrect jerseys. Only from the semifinals onwards did we get correct jerseys despatched from India,” the participant stated.
“There wasn’t even a correct coach. Players had been sitting court-side, teaching one another throughout matches.”
