Six shuttlers await recognition months after university body’s lapse at World University Games

Months after an administrative lapse prevented them from competing at the World University Games, six Indian badminton players are still awaiting participation certificates, which were promised as corrective action by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

A 12-member Indian badminton squad was selected for the Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, but only six players entered the managers’ meeting, leaving the remaining half barred from competition despite being present at the venue. The AIU then formed an inquiry committee and suspended its joint secretary, Baljit Singh Sekhon.

The six who competed — Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, Saneeth Dayanand, Tasnim Mir, Varshini Viswanath Sri, Devika Sihag and Vaishnavi Khadkekar — went on to win a historic bronze medal in the mixed team event.

However, the excluded players — Alisha Khan, Rohan Kumar, Darshan Pujari, Aditi Bhatt, Abhinash Mohanty and Viraj Kuvale — were left out of official records, denying them certificates, recognition and benefits linked to international medals.

The Sports Ministry in January this year issued a show cause notice to AIU, saying the body has failed to carry out its duties related to athlete development and planning.

“Cash awards are not there, we haven’t given any cash reward to anyone, but they have got their medals. They are yet to get the certificates, but we took it up with FISU, so hope for the best,” AIU secretary general Pankaj Mittal told PTI when asked if the six players were recognised.

For the players, the past few months have been marked by uncertainty, with little clarity from the governing body.

Alisha Khan alleged that repeated attempts to seek clarity from officials have drawn no response.

“While we were in Germany, there was a Zoom meeting organised by AIU with the players and its general secretary, Pankaj Mittal, was present. They promised us that upon returning to India, we would get equal recognition and cash rewards and merit certificates like the other six players,” she said.

“We were told to post on Instagram with our medals to show that because of AIU, we received the medals. As players, we wrote a letter to FISU and its organisers to understand our situation. So, as a memento, they gave us the medal.

“Since we have returned to India, not even one email has been answered and no one is ready to pick our calls. Even if they pick up our calls, they just keep telling us to talk to another official. We have received no clear response yet. Our state associations are asking for merit certificates to give us cash awards,” she added.

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Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, who was part of the medal-winning side, said the lack of clarity has been frustrating for all involved.

“They did promise cash awards but everything became silent after that. We tried speaking to them, there was no response,” he said.

“We don’t have anything in writing, but every player knows it, we know what was promised and what happened there, the struggle we went through. We didn’t have T-shirts either.

“It was tough to receive the medals while the rest of our fellow shuttlers were crying on the sideline. We didn’t want to get the medals this way but we were threatened.” Aditi Bhatt, one of the excluded players, said the absence of official certification has rendered the medals meaningless.

“We were promised certificates that recognised us as part of the bronze medal winning Indian team, we got medals but the value of the medal is zero with the certificate.

“They said once we come back we would be felicitated, we will be recognised, and a cash award, just be there as a team support and we did that but after that there was nothing.” The excluded players were later given medals by the International University Sports Federation as a symbolic gesture, but these do not carry official validity in terms of records or entitlements.

With no outcome of the AIU inquiry in the public domain and no formal recognition extended so far, the players continue to await closure of an episode that cost them a chance to compete on the international stage.

Published on Apr 04, 2026