Top News

HS Prannoy opened up on the lack of recognition for badminton players in India, backing sentiments shared by   and his doubles partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy after leading India to a bronze medal in the Thomas Cup. India did well in the tournament, but lost to France in the semifinal. Upon their return to India, Chirag and Satwik posted pictures of the squad on Instagram and wrote, "Back home now. As usual, no one knows what happened over the past two weeks, and it seems like no one really cares." The posts went viral and triggered a debate around the lack of recognition for players outside cricket.

 ,while speaking to Boria Majumdar, clarified that the players have received enough support from the government, Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and the Sports Authority of India, stressing that the real issue is the lack of awareness and recognition for major achievements in badminton, adding that people hardly know how big a Thomas Cup medal is.

"I think there has been a lot of chatter in recent times, and I want to clarify what we really meant. Keeping the discussion to the Thomas Cup, because the Thomas Cup is the World Cup for us. We have been playing the Thomas Cup for the last 10 editions or more, and have been knocked out in the group stages 90% of the time. China and Indonesia have collectively won almost 30 Thomas Cup titles. Only six different nations have won the Thomas Cup title, and we are one of them, which shows how tough it is to go there and win it.

"When we were playing the Thomas Cup, there was not enough media attention. But I would really like to clarify that we have received immense support from the government, the association and the top officials. I felt a lot of the chatter shifted towards the idea that we were asking for support, which is totally wrong. My only question is: if we don’t celebrate a bronze medal in the Thomas Cup, then what are we going to celebrate going forward?

"Players like Saina Nehwal and P. V. Sindhu have raised the bar with their performances. So, our sport has reached a stage where, if you are not winning a gold medal, it is not considered news. Those achievements have set a baseline, and that’s where I really want to tell everybody that we are not going to hit that peak every year and have victories now and then. So, whenever we do reasonably well, we should celebrate and acknowledge it. That is the only thing we asked for after the Thomas Cup," he said.

Prannoy said this lack of awareness could discourage the next generation of players from pursuing badminton seriously.

"One more concern is that when youngsters see us returning from a Thomas Cup and find there is no buzz around it, they will think the Thomas Cup is not an important tournament. The message that goes out is very negative," Prannoy added.

When asked what needs to be done to get badminton the recognition it needs, he highlighted that cricket was celebrated even when India was not winning the World Cup and urged the people to back the players to make sure that the sport keeps growing.

"A lot of stakeholders need to come together for this to happen. There was a gap from 1983 to 2007 for a World Cup win in cricket, and cricket was still celebrated throughout. So, it is just my request to bring all the players together in order to make sure that the sport keeps growing. Everybody knows that the sport grew from a certain position because of certain individuals.

"Also, I don’t want the situation to remain the same 10–15 years from now. I want it to improve going forward, not just for the players but for the entire ecosystem. As a player, I honestly don’t know how things work outside, so the only request is: let’s collectively celebrate a medal so that juniors feel it is worth playing these tournaments going forward," he said.

"But I am not going to comment on something I am not familiar with. There are people already working on it, and hopefully they can figure it out. Otherwise, this will become a very individualistic sport where only individual medals are highlighted – much like how Neeraj Chopra has become a huge name in the country because of his efforts as an individual. But we need 10 more Neeraj Chopras going forward.

"We tried hard to get out of the group stages in the Thomas Cup and were able to win a gold, which this time made the bronze seem valueless because we had already won gold before. We were seeded eighth in the entire tournament, which means we were not expected to be on that podium, as only the top four teams were supposed to be there. So, we have done better than what was expected of us. Yet people are saying, “It’s just a bronze medal.” I’m unhappy with that entire situation."