Asha Sree bags gold medal in U-13 badminton tournament
In a thrilling final, Asha edged past Kyra Raina of Maharashtra with scores of 21-17, 16-21, 21-19.
She also secured a bronze medal in the doubles category and had earlier defeated Punya MN of Bengaluru in straight sets in the semifinals.
Asha trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy under Coach Shaili and is currently ranked No. 2 nationally.
Her father, Dandu Srinivasa Rao, expressed immense joy over her performance.
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Business Standard
18 hours ago
- Business Standard
Badminton faces shuttle crisis; BAI, Gopichand urge urgent alternatives
The humble shuttlecock, the lifeline of badminton, has become the sport's biggest worry with prices of imported feather shuttles more than doubling in the past year amid an acute shortage of raw material in China. A recent article in French newspaper L'Equipe attributed the crisis to changing food habits in China, where preference for pork over duck and goose meat has reduced poultry farming, and to a global surge in badminton's popularity. The squeeze has forced India's top stakeholders to admit the sport can no longer depend solely on goose and duck feathers. "Sooner or later, we have to move away from feathers as a natural product. The sport has grown exponentially, and between China, Indonesia and India alone, we account for nearly two-fifths of the world's population consuming shuttles, chief national coach Pullela Gopichand told PTI. "The scarcity isn't just about fewer ducks or geese being reared, it's also because more people are playing badminton. That's a good sign, but unless we find lab-grown or synthetic options, we will have a problem. I am confident a breakthrough will come in the next five years. While reports suggested Gopichand's academy in Hyderabad was left with less than two weeks of shuttle reserves, BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra said supply to national camps will stabilise this week but admitted the long-term challenge remains. "Yonex has assured us shipments after August 20, so there's no immediate panic. The shortage hasn't affected the camp or any tournament. But these shuttles are made of goose and duck feathers, and as demand rises globally, we have to think of alternatives. "I had a discussion with BWF during a meeting, they have been experimenting with plastic shuttles but somehow they didn't have the same control or accuracy." Karan Dhar, Managing Director of Yonex India, also assured to fast-track deliveries. We are working to address the immediate concerns. Shipments are expected shortly, and in a day or two, we will be sending shuttles to Hyderabad and the national camps. The tentative schedule is around August 20, but we are trying to expedite it, he said. Dhar conceded the shortage is severe and unlikely to be temporary. "This is essentially a raw material issue. The supply of feathers has dropped and costs have escalated sharply. It has definitely affected demand and made the sport costlier, especially for players who cannot afford such high prices, he said. "Even if production is shifted outside China, the basic feathers still come from there, so the dependence is very high. Efforts are underway to develop synthetic or hybrid shuttles Yonex is working on innovations but a complete replacement hasn't yet been found." The price of a tube of high-quality shuttles has soared from Rs 1,200 at the end of 2023 to nearly Rs 3,000 now. GST adds 12 per cent to already inflated imported prices, prompting calls for government intervention. "I think that is a possibility wherein maybe the government can be requested if they could reduce the import duties or the taxes that may help in lowering the cost of the physician box making it slightly more competitive, Dhar said. "That discussion is going on. Yes, even they are aware of it. Even the association is having difficulty because of the increase in costs." India has a few production units in Kerala and West Bengal, but they are limited in scale and quality and have struggled to compete with mass-produced Chinese imports. Asked what role India can play, Gopichand said: Shuttle costs are already a big reason why badminton is so expensive. If we can bring them down, the sport will grow even bigger. I don't think that we are going to eat duck as much or could produce as much duck feather, that's not going to be the case. But India's research institutions like IITs can play a role in developing feather-like materials. We cannot remain dependent on nature of food consumption in one country for the future of an entire sport. "I think before the entire ecosystem come to a halt because the bird flu affected it in the past, now scarcity is affecting it, so it's not good that you're dependent on nature in China for an entire sport so it's imperative that we find the right answers quickly," he signed off. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- New Indian Express
World C'ships an opportunity for Lakshya to turn things around: Coach Vimal
CHENNAI: The season so far has been an immense slog for badminton ace Lakshya Sen. Victories have been at a premium and the shuttler, despite his unarguable talent, has largely been at sea while trying to navigate high-intensity matches inside the court. But that narrative can change in no time. With the all-important World Championships in Paris around the corner, Lakshya will be hoping to buck the trend. With the gold-standard event in mind, the shuttler from Almora is currently training in Paris alongside some of the elite French players. The Indian, who celebrated his 24th birthday on August 16, will be returning to a venue — Porte de La Chapelle Arena — where he had narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal last year. Having said that, he has also tasted success there, having reached the semifinals of the French Open in summer last year. And the Indian had shown some form during his last outing — Macau Open, gaining crucial match-practice in the process. However, he has to be near-flawless from the onset during the BWF Grade 1 event — scheduled to be held from August 25 to 31 — as he will be facing China's Shi Yu Qi, who has been one of the standouts of the season so far with four titles to his name. The odds are clearly stacked against Lakshya but a victory against the World No 1 shuttler could just be the kick he needs. U Vimal Kumar, Lakshya's coach at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), concurred. "It's an opportunity (for Lakshya). That's what I told him the moment I saw the draw. He said everything is going well. Shi Yu Qi is someone whom he has beaten before. The top-30 players who'll be playing in the event, Lakshya has beaten all of them. He can beat any of them but he has to convert his chances. The top guys are also vulnerable and they'll be under pressure. Shi can also be under pressure. He knows Lakshya's strengths and it's going to be a tough match. If Lakshya can play fearlessly and pull off a win, it will be a good breakthrough," Vimal told this daily. Lakshya this season has either struggled to get his engine burning, going by his early exits or he has seemed to be lacking ideas during the business end of sweat-dripping matches. Vimal, who has been regularly looking to motivate his ward, said that is the issue that he's trying to address at the moment. "He needs match-practice. Training is not new, he has been doing that for long. He has been looking to work on dealing with different situations, how you employ yourself and pull off wins. He has been faltering in those closing stages. That is an area that they're trying to get better at, to understand when to push the pace, when to keep the shuttle in play without making mistakes when under pressure. That he can only gain in the practice that he's getting over there as there are quite a lot of other elite players who're also practising there. He has to figure things out, everything can't be coached."
India Today
4 days ago
- India Today
Badminton: How China's changing food habits has forced a shuttlecock crisis
The badminton world is in the middle of an unexpected crisis, a severe shortage of feather shuttlecocks. Across the globe, national associations are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire quality shuttles for their players. Those who have managed to get their hands on them are paying much higher than the usual have told India Today that the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad — home to some of India's finest players — has less than two weeks of shuttlecock reserves. In Europe, countries like France have raised similar concerns, with some even considering switching to alternatives in junior-level crisis is serious enough to shake the very foundation of the sport. It's simple: no shuttles, no Changing Food Habits Secretary of the Badminton Association of India (BAI), Sanjay Mishra, confirmed to India Today that the shortage is real, and surprisingly, it has its roots in China's changing food world's most populous country is seeing a significant shift in dietary habits. The Chinese population is now favouring pork over what used to be traditional delicacies — duck and goose. This shift has led to a sharp drop in duck and goose consumption, and in turn, fewer birds are being reared by shuttlecock feathers are a byproduct of poultry processing, mostly duck feathers for regular shuttles and goose feathers for elite ones, the supply chain has taken a massive hit.'Goose feathers are what the best shuttles are made of,' Mishra explained. 'Yonex is based in Japan, but their entire shuttle manufacturing happens in China. And people in China have reduced eating goose and duck — that's why the manufacturers are not getting any feathers.'It takes 16 feathers to make a single shuttlecock, and the issue is compounded by the fact that they wear out quickly. A standard singles match might use up nearly two dozen Impacting Global BadmintonThe impact isn't limited to India. Mishra said the issue is affecting countries like France, Denmark and others across Europe.'I spoke to Yonex representatives a couple of days back. They said they would send the next lot after August 20,' he said. 'But they also said that they simply can't keep up with the demand any more.'A report in French newspaper L'quipe mirrored the concern. The publication pointed out that Chinese farmers are unlikely to rear ducks or geese just for their feathers as it is simply not viable for them, especially with pork offering far better is the Solution?Mishra revealed that the Badminton Association of India has already taken up the matter with the Badminton World Federation (BWF), asking them to explore spoke to BWF about this in a meeting. They had experimented with artificial feather shuttles some time back, but those had issues with accuracy and made too much noise. So, they dropped the idea. But now, they'll have to revisit it. The game is growing, and the shuttle issue will only get worse.'Big manufacturers like Yonex and Li-Ning are already working on hybrid shuttlecock models — alternatives that do not rely on animal feathers. The French badminton federation's president, Franck Laurent, believes the transition is inevitable.'Manufacturers are developing hybrid shuttlecocks, which are quite technical. But this option is not viable today — they're still too expensive,' Laurent told L'quipe. 'In a few years, I think everyone will switch to them.'However, as of now, there is no immediate way out.'The feather shuttlecock, with its particular trajectories, remains the most spectacular version. We need a solution that can mimic the sensations. For the moment, this is not the case,' he now, shuttles are going to get rarer, and more expensive. While the search for alternatives continues, associations, players, and manufacturers are left hoping that a solution arrives before the sport reaches a breaking point.- EndsMust Watch
