Dr. Sarma was talking to media persons after felicitating the Junior National Team, which is bound for Indonesia to take part in the World Junior Championship and Myanmar for the Asian Badminton Championship, by setting a precedent of handing over the Indian blazer, at the Karnataka Badminton Association, here on Friday. It also marked the conclusion of a 20-day preparatory camp under the supervision of the Junior National Coach Sanjay Mishra who will lead a 38-member strong team for the Asian Championship. KBA president BV Srinivas will accompany the team as the manager.
The entire Junior contingent with BAI President Dr. Hemanta Biswa Sarma before the team leaves for the Asian Junior and World Junior Champioship to be held in Mynmeer and Jakarta respctively.
With a focus on building the future of Indian badminton, BAI will concentrate on honing the skills of the junior players. “Most of the times, good talented players drop out of the game due to financial constraints. Hence to support such players, we will be providing a scholarship of Rs 25,000-50,000 per month for about 20 juniors to begin with, and take the number to 100 in a year,” said the President while urging the corporate sector to support the cause.
BAI President during the send off Ceremony for the Junior National Team in Bangalore handing over the Indian Blazer to the players .
There will be a two-month summer camp across the country, especially for the players who have immense talent but missed out on the opportunities owing to various factors. “Every state association will nominate five players each and there will be four national camps in the summer. National and International coaches will assist the trainees,” said Dr. Sarma.
The overage issues will be put to rest by conducting the medical tests on the ‘fringe’ players at the beginning of the season. “We want to erase this over-age issue by conducting the tests well before the season so that no one should under-go the mental trauma during a tournament or a camp. If a player is found overage, we will put him/her in the next category as we think the parents are the culprits rather than the players themselves,” said Dr. Sarma.
The Indian team for Asian Junior Championship
Boys U-17: Meirab Maisram, Dhruv Rawat, Iman Sonowal, Aakash Yadav, Amit Rathore, Sathish Kumar, Edwin Joy, Arvind V Suresh, Vishnuvardhan Goud, Ishan Bhatnagar, Khush Chug.
Boys U-15: Sidhant Gupta, Ayush Raj Gupta, Punshiba Yengkhom, Jayant Rana, Varun Kapur, Vikas Yadav, Arshad Shaik, Shubham Patel, Sanjeev Rao, Khajamoinuddin Shaik
Girls U-17: Gayatri Gopichand, Akarshi Kashyap, Unnati Bisht, Malvika Bansode, Ritika Thakkar, Samiya Imad Farooqui, Varshini VS, Sahiti Suresh, Kavi Priya, Keyura Mopati
Girls U-15: Sneha Rajwan, Ashi Rawat, Kriti Bhardwaj, Treesa Jolly, Reza Mehreen, Tanya Hemant, Aditi Bhatt
Photo: BAI President during the send off Ceremony for the Junior National Team in Bangalore handing over the Indian Blazer to the players .
Photo 2: The entire Junior contingent with BAI President Dr. Hemanta Biswa Sarma before the team leaves for the Asian Junior and World Junior Championship to be held in Myanmar and Jakarta respectively.