Bengaluru: In the last two decades, badminton has become one of the most popular sports in the country. Aware of its ever evolving and expanding nature, the newly-elected team of administrators of the Karnataka Badminton Association vouched to commence work immediately to take the game to newer heights in Karnataka.
Leading the team is Kumar S Bangarappa who was elected the 15th president of the KBA. And the 62-year-old politician, actor and an avid badminton admirer, expressed his willingness to live up to the promises made in the next four years.
“First and foremost (job) is to spread badminton to the nook and corner of Karnataka,” said Bangarappa during a press conference on Friday.
“We want to ensure each of the 31 districts have an association and we will work together to scout future talents from everywhere. We also want to develop infrastructure. By infra I don’t just mean halls and courts, but also improved kitting and hostel facilities. There are so many people who work behind the scenes for the sport. We want to improve their salaries, approach the government for housing schemes.”
Currently, out of the 31 districts in Karnataka, there are 20 working district associations. However, as many as 9-10 districts are without a governing body of their own, non-functional or independent of KBA.
Another issue on the agenda of the committee is KBA’s long standing tussle with the Badminton Association of India. Charging KBA of failing to comply with the National Sports Code, BAI had disaffiliated the State body in 2022 before the Karnataka High Court stayed the parent body’s decision.
Speaking about the legal battle, Bangarappa promised to resolve the issue amicably in the coming months. “I will meet the president of BAI soon to talk about this issue. Obviously, we want to sort it out amicably and put KBA back within the BAI fold,” he asserted.
Bengaluru alone it is estimated to have around 7000 courts with several others unaccounted for across the State. Training more coaches and umpires along with reviving the Karnataka Badminton League are some of the other important agendas for the team of 19 office-bearers and executive council members who for the first time have as many as five former badminton players including Olympian Anup Sridhar and former international Arvind Bhat.