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The time is ripe for revolt

The revolt against the Badminton Association of India and its president, Mr Fazil Ahmed, less than ten days old as of the time of writing this, has gained a momentum that should be making the officials entrenched in their posts shake in their boots.

Maharashtra, one of the strongest and best administered state units; Goa, a rival body in West Bengal, Bihar and some other states besides Karnataka, have thrown in their lot with 1980 All England champion Prakash Padukone and his newly formed Indian Badminton Confederation.

But the determined Prakash himself has not been swayed by the show of support from so many bodies and from his former colleagues in the national team, like Leroy D'Sa and Uday Pawar. His focus remainds fixed on the task of rescuing Indian badminton from the incompetent administrators who are not in step with what is required of them.

As he said earlier, Prakash's principal thrust is in improving the conditions for the propagation and promotion of the game throughout the country, and the lot of the players and all involved in the sport. He has clearly pointed out that for India to become a force to be reckoned on par with China, Indonesia and Denmark, it will take years of hard, unrelentless work by all concerned - the IBC, the state bodies, the officials and the players.

While others have been waxing eloquent about Prakash's bold step in forming the IBC and the bright new chapter that the nine times national champion and the IBC will be ushering in, the man himself has been stressing on the brassstacks. When representatives of the rebel body from West Bengal, or rather Calcutta, met him at Bangalore this week, Prakash advised them to take into confidence the district bodies in West Bengal and together undo the harm that the West Bengal Badminton Association had done the game in a state that, in the forties and fifties, had produced players of the calibre of nationally ranked Keshav Dutt (also a hockey Olympian), Manoj Guha and Gajanan Hemmady, with the last named an active member of the rebel body.

Prakash obviously has no illusions about the enormity of the task of resuscitating the game in the country. Hopefully, this very practical, hard-nosed approached of Prakash will rub off on those who have jumped onto the bandwagon for the restoration of the health of badminton in the country. And if anything will help this hope grow, it is the example of sincerity and dedication set by Prakash himself.

Already, there are signs that the pioneering Prakash has become an encouraging beacon for sportspersons in other disciplines which are suffering through maladminstration. Leading exponents have got together to make the Squash Rackets Association of Maharashtra mend its ways. They have petitioned the SRAM chief to divest secretary Manan Mashruwalla of his powers, because his contribution to the development of the game has been very negligible. They have stated that the secretary has not found the time to even once visit the camp being conducted by Rehmat Khan for the last two months and more. At the same time, the players have to attend the camp to be eligible for selection to the state teams in the various age groups.

The players also have questioned how the SRAM can pay Rehmat Khan Rs 1.2 million for two years, when the state association claims shortage of funds as the reason for putting players through the stress of taking very early morning flights at discounted rates.

There are allegations, too, that the SRAM has shown bias in footing the passage of junior players to tournaments in Scotland and England. The players, who include Akhil Behl, Paul Ferreira, Abhijit Kukreja, Rohan Bappu and Neeraj Shirgaonkar, have sought a reply in seven days from SRAM president Vaman Apte before deciding on follow-up action. up.

Now, if squash in Maharashtra can follow the lead of Prakash and the IBC, it will not be far-fetched to expect such rebellions in other sporting disciplines that have been suffering from maladministration. The Indian Tennis Players Association, which has been having a running battle with the All-India Tennis Association over the last couple of years, could be emboldened by Padukone's example to make a stronger presentation of their case for greater appearance and prize money for all.

And this movement for reform need not be restricted to individual games alone, such as tennis, table tennis, badminton, squash, etc. It could in time extend to team-based sports such as football, hockey, basketball, etc.

Because the administration of cricket follows the pattern set by efficient, seasoned men like Chinnaswamy, Sriraman, Chandgadkar, Bindra and Dalmiya, this most popular of sports in the country is unlikely to be disturbed. Sivanthi Adityan's ascendancy, which virtually put an end to fissiparous trends, has ensured that volleyball has a fairly stable and beneficial administration. Likewise, too, the Chess Federation of India.

There are rumblings in some other national federations, like the Basketball Federation of India, the All-India Football Federation and the Indian Hockey Federation. All three are guilty of lack of proper planning. The BFI cut a sorry figure before the final of the event in the National Games at Bangalore, thanks to controversies surrounding the induction of a foreign player by Bihar. The AIFF's conduct of the Eider Nehru Cup tournament at Kochi in March brought it no credit. Nor has the non-staging of nationals during the last few years rebounded to the credit of the IHF.

With Prakash Padukone proving conclusively that it is possible to institute reform in a sport provided you have the courage of your convictions, it is not beyond the bounds of probability that such movements for reform will begin to seep into other areas of Indian sports.

And that, to my mind, would be a very good thing indeed.