New life in newly installed arena

The squeaking of the rubber soles, the 'pop' sound when shuttles hit the sweet spot of badminton rackets, the frequent announcements of games' commencements and screaming from the participants and audiences, all of it combined have apparently brought back life surrounding the newly installed wooden floor at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium yesterday.

Activities on the new wooden floor, which took three crore taka and more than half-a-year to build, has started through the 37th National Badminton Championships – the competition taking place following a three-year gap -- with some 377 shuttlers from different 71 teams on the back of short-term preparation.

There might have been enthusiasm among the shuttlers but they lacked quality. Rallies were hardly on display as each of the first-round matches took little time to complete on the five courts used in the event.

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"It is common at the National Badminton Championships to see the first round matches remain comparatively less competitive. The quality and tough matches would come from the third and fourth round," said Nuruzzaman Liton, who is working as a deputy referee in the competition.

It was learned that many budding players from needy families at district levels have come to gather the experience by participating in the national championships for the first time.

However, a different development has been observed on the first day with eight players from well-off families from Bashundhara Residential Area representing three District Sports Associations (DSA) as Gautam Chandra Pal, a former national coach, wants to bring those shuttlers into the mainstream circuit.

Gautam has been training nearly 30 players at the Dhali Fitness Center in Bashundhara for the past year-and-a-half alongside conducting his own training academy in Mirpur.

 "The shuttlers I have been training come from well-off families and their sports-minded parents are also encouraging their children to continue playing badminton," said Gautam. 

The students of Gautam do not need the financial assistant to take part in the championships. However, the shuttlers coming from the district level face a contrasting scenario as they only receive 300 taka daily allowance.

Apart from the 100 taka registration fee, a shuttler had to pay 500 and 700 taka to play the singles and doubles event, respectively.

 "There is hardly any prize money for the participants. So how the players from needy families will bear the expense of playing badminton," said a former national player, seeking anonymity.

 Having been informed that the entry and registration money were provided by the DSAs, a coach from southern district, also seeking anonymity, questioned how a player could afford his daily food within only 300 taka in Dhaka city.