BAI injects bigger finance to boost badminton

Badminton Association of India (BAI) boosts sport with increased financial incentives, grants, and prizes for players and coaches.

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.