Six Indian badminton players barred from World University Games over alleged administrative lapse

New Delhi: The Indian badminton squad that won the mixed team bronze medal at the ongoing World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany has been hit by a controversy over selection after six of the 12 chosen players were barred from participating due to an alleged administrative lapse.

Twelve players were selected and sent to represent India, but only six were allowed to compete as officials failed to submit all names correctly during the managers' meeting on July 16.

"This is not just mismanagement – it's career sabotage. We demand answers, accountability, and that our voices be heard. We didn't lose a match – we lost our right to even participate," wrote Alisha Khan, one of the players left out, on Instagram.

"This isn't just a mistake. It's career sabotage by AIU and our team officials. We demand justice."

According to sources, BV Rao and Ajit Mohan were the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) officials who attended the meeting. The AIU, which is the nodal body for university-level sports in the country, acknowledged the incident.

"We have been informed about this and the matter is being investigated," AIU Secretary Dr Pankaj Mittal told PTI while refusing to comment any further.

According to a source, the issue was not just an error but stemmed from "systematic irregularities" starting from the selection trials held at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar.

"During the managers' meeting, officials were given a letter listing all 12 players from India. It was their responsibility to read it carefully, check for missing or injured players, and confirm or adjust the names accordingly. However, they took it lightly," the source said.

"The names of players who hadn't attended trials were there. They came here only to enjoy. In the meeting, they also made a basic mistake. They were supposed to declare which player would play singles, doubles, and mixed, but didn’t process it properly."

Saneeth Dayanand, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, Devika Sihag, Tasnim Mir, Varshini Viswanath Sri, and Vaishnavi Khadkekar were the six who competed in the mixed team event.

India defeated Macau but lost to Hong Kong in the group stage, then beat the USA in the round of 16 and Malaysia in the quarterfinals before losing to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.

Rohan Kumar, Darshan Pujari, Aditi Bhatt, Abhinash Mohanty, Viraj Kuvale, and Alisha Khan were part of the 12-member squad but did not get to play.

Pujari has written to the Badminton Association of India (BAI), demanding a thorough investigation.

“This level of mismanagement has caused significant emotional distress to the affected athletes. The players who were left out of the nomination list have been unfairly denied the chance to contribute on the field and be acknowledged as part of this achievement,” he wrote in his email.

“To date, there has been no accountability or concrete explanation provided by the managers. A mere apology cannot suffice at this level of international representation, where the careers, dreams, and morale of athletes are at stake.

“Through this email, I respectfully urge the concerned authorities to take this matter seriously, conduct a thorough review, and ensure that such avoidable and damaging incidents are never repeated in the future.”

Expressing frustration over the incident and apathy of the Indian officials, a player said, "It's a historic achievement that our team won a bronze with just six players, but that certificate and medal will change their lives, not ours, when we were supposed to be there as a team.

“The frustrating thing is the officials don’t even admit their mistakes or show any remorse," he said on condition of anonymity.

“The AIU can at least issue certificates acknowledging all 12 as team members to protect our career prospects and rights.”

The selection trials were held in April at KIIT, Bhubaneswar, with over 210 players, including top-tier national and international university athletes, participating.

However, the source alleged that the players who actually topped the trials were left out of the mixed team event despite being part of the squad.

“The team manager made the blunder. The officials didn’t focus during the meeting, and after the trials they didn’t follow the proper process. They just submitted six names, so the other six were not allowed by FISU,” the source said.

“...the team travelled all the way, and yet in the manager’s meeting they missed out names. I don’t know how it is possible to overlook such a basic responsibility.

“Players have been misled throughout... officials are giving them false hopes about participation and medals in individual events. If the players are robbed of their chance like this, it is unacceptable.”

A player also alleged that officials goofed up on the team jerseys which "didn’t carry the country's name properly", leading to fine.

Similar complaint from 400m runner Devyani Bazala

Woman quartermiler Devyani Bazala also alleged that she could not compete as her name "has gone missing because of late alteration by the officials in submitting the confirmation list".

"I have been preparing for this event for over a year ... but (when) the start list for Day 1 came out ... my name went missing from 400m women list," she wrote in a social media post datelined Bochum in Germany.

"It has a major impact on my life and my sporting career, it really takes a lot of sacrifice, courage and passion to be here. Who is to be blamed?"