BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma said these grants will help State Associations in enhancing their existing programs.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Keeping in tune with the fast growth of the sport across the country, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has sanctioned bigger financial incentives to boost the game.

In its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the capital, the BAI approved the enhancement of prize money for National championships from Rs. 75 lakh to Rs. 1 crore. The under-19 Nationals will have Rs. 70 lakh prize purse, from the current Rs. 35 lakh.

The under-15 and 17 National championships will have Rs. 75 lakh prize, while the under-13 and under-11 Nationals will offer Rs. 30 lakh and Rs. 7 lakh respectively.

The veterans also have a lot to cheer, as the Nationals will offer a Rs. 38 lakh prize money. The BAI will offer all the prize money of the National championships as a grant to the host.

Quite impressively, the prize money for National ranking tournaments has been doubled to Rs. 10 lakh for under-19 tournaments, Rs. 8 lakh for under-15 and 17 tournaments and Rs. 6 lakh for under-13.

“We are providing grants to State Associations to ensure development across the State, and the current increase in grants will help them enhance their existing programs,” said the president of BAI, Himanta Biswas Sarma.

He acknowledged the point that looking after the youngsters and motivating them by providing better financial incentives was critical for the development of the game.

Rewarding excellence

For excellence, the BAI has allocated further funds. A player or pair winning the World Championship gold will get a cash prize of Rs. 20 lakh. A player or pair winning the BWF Super 1000 title will get Rs. 10 lakh. A player winning the World junior Championship will get Rs. 15 lakh and it will be Rs. 10 lakh for clinching the Asian junior championship.

To ensure former players get into coaching to accelerate the growth of young players, the BAI has announced a monthly award of Rs. 1 lakh to Olympian coaches, and Rs. 50,000 to other coaches training the national campers.

The grant for State Associations has been increased from Rs. 7.5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh. That apart, they will also get additional grants for hosting National ranking tournaments.

Overall, the BAI has pledged about Rs. 10 crore annually to strengthen the game across the country, right from the grass roots level.