Several Indian badminton players at the World University Games were threatened by the team management after it was concerned about serious bad behind the scenes. More resources today confirmed India that players were warned to remain silent or face the consequences as soon as they return to India.
On Monday, July 21, a discussion broke out, just hours after India secured her first medal for the events of the mixed team in the games. Under the leadership of the world No. 47 Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, a team consisting of Devika Sihag, Saneeth Dayanand, Tasnim Mir, Varshini Viswanath Sri and VaiShnavi Khadkekar won a bronze medal.
What should be a historical moment quickly acid when one of Alisha Khan’s players publicly allegedly allegedly incorrect management of Indian officials. She argued that only 6 out of 12 team members were allowed to compete in action because BV Rao and Rashmi Ramacandra team managers presented a full list of players during an official meeting of managers with tournament authorities.
Baljet Singh, the head of the Indian delegation, tried to explain the incident in an interview with the Tribune and said that the coaches chose the “strongest” players in an effort to medal. India players today spoke strongly refuted and accused Singha and managers of lying and incompetence.
“We have been told that our career will end as soon as we return to India. That our Bai-ents (Badminton Association of India IDS) will be canceled and we will be excluded from future competitions,” one player said on the condition of anonymity.
“All players, those who played and those who don’t, are united. During this tournament we all faced poor driving,” another said.
GROUP MAKE DRIVING BOHEMPLY
India learned today that the Indian team did not have a practical court before the start of the tournament, as managers allegedly forgot to book one. Also, players had no shuttles for training, because none of the Indian camp appeared at FIS (University Games Authority) to ask them.
Players who were forced to improvise originally used personal shuttles and later had to borrow used from other teams to prepare for matches.
Of the 12 players selected for representing India, six – Rohan Kumar, Darshan Pujari, additi Bhatt, Abhinash Mohanta, Viraj Kuva and Alisha Khan – never got a chance to compete. Officials apparently forgot their names during the team registration.
The players said they learned about their omission when the list of teams for the first round was announced. After asking, they reportedly said that their names were not included because of supervision.
When the players approached FIS officials to correct the mistake, they were told that they were too late and that more reminders were given to complete the group.
“We found that we didn’t play on the day of the first match. When we asked, managers accidentally said they had forgotten to include our names,” the player said.
In the heavily formulated Instagram post Alisha Khan expressed his emotional and professional impact of the error.
“Six who had to play, gave the best and won bronze. But only they now receive honors, a certificate of merit, government work, cash awards and recognition. The rest returns us with an empty hand, not because
The injury is held in the Indian camp
Only six players are available during the mixed team event, and physical tension took its toll. Today, India can confirm that Sathish Karunakaran’s leader has suffered a swollen ankle and is unlikely to participate in the upcoming individual events.
Players also revealed that the team did not have a physiotherapist present, which forces them to handle injuries themselves. Several members of the mixed team group are now nursing and raise concerns about the chances of India in individual competitions.
The controversy at the world’s university games not only revealed alarming outages in team management, but also raised serious questions about the well -being and responsibility of the athlete in the Indian Sports Administration. As young players face threats for their careers to speak, the episode underlines the urgent need for systemic reform and independent supervision to ensure that such negligence and intimidation do not turn.
– ends
Published:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
22 July 2025
