How to stop badminton from turning ugly?
Anything can take a wrong turn and leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. I want to take this moment to invoke a discussion around fan pressure and social media skewness and understand the human side of our favourite badminton athletes. And, we can learn from Cricket what not to do, that is a great guidebook for badminton fans.
Before addressing these topics, I need to explain the inspiration behind this article. Is India a young country in badminton? Maybe not, Indians have been playing this sport for a really loooong time, we can't say India is a fledgling badminton nation. But at the same time India is not a front runner in badminton either. Then where does India stand? India stands at the crossroad where badminton fans can choose how they interact with the sport and the athletes who make this sport enticing and fun. I would personally like Indians to enjoy badminton, pick up a racquet and play it once in a while and enjoy it, be more familiar with the rules, terminology and facets of how international badminton is played at the highest level. More sponsorship to the competitions and investment in the public infrastructure but that is a direct and indirect result of how many people engage with the sport, specifically how many people watch it and how wealthy these people are(that is one of the reasons why tennis has better tournament rewards). Incidentally, there are not many sports where India and China have a rivalry, Just imagine if we had the most populated countries engaging in the same sport. Badminton is a goldmine yet to be explored by the sponsors and advertisers properly. India has been presented with opportunity to take the right decisions and to avoid all the red flags which are a part of other popular sports. India is a young adult in badminton who can choose wisely!
To make this article easy to follow, I will discuss each topic individually.
Who are the stakeholders?
The audience(fans), players, organizers and investors. We need to understand each stakeholder is important and every stakeholders command the same respect and attention.
What support do they need?
Players need the support, the attention to be well prepared and motivated to put out a world class performance. Organizers need the infrastructure, capital and proper guidelines and audience support to conduct the tournaments. Investors need a good ROI to stay invested and increase their investments. These are hard truths and badminton will not move forward without checking the necessary boxes. Oh wait, what about fans? They are the biggest stakeholders, everyone fights for their attention. Audience need resources and opportunities to engage with the sport, to educate themselves and have fun. Every badminton fan is entitled to quality broadcasting and commentary as they chose to watch it no one forced them. A system needs to be set in place where fans can enjoy badminton and not get frustrated.
Coming back to our athletes, we need to understand that they are human. We really should not burden them with unrealistic demigod expectations, when they deliver like one; no problem there, but when they don't, we have to have a community where athletes don't feel afraid to express themselves and are unable to accept their loss as is and grow from it.
What are the problems that can arise?
Cricket is the prime example of what can go wrong with the sport. It is a big cash cow but not a pleasant lifestyle for all the players. They can't go anywhere, always paranoid about their safety and privacy, lack of freedom of expression, bound to micro-scrutiny by every chap down the street. Infrastructure for cricket is not sustainable, frankly it is a dying sport in many countries, It is thanks to Indians that cricket is where it is. Badminton has to have a strong grassroots level systems set in place where the people and infrastructure involved needs to be sustainable unlike cricket where it is lacking in many dimensions. Social media toxicity is another thing that can happen and is present in Badminton too. Lack of Investors, Sponsors, sub standard broadcasting and improper event management are some other problems.
What is a healthy relationship between the stakeholders?
Having good communication and understanding between stakeholders leads to a healthy relationship. Event managers(BWF) should take into consideration of howand when to conduct tournaments taking into consideration of preventing injuries in top athletes due to heavy workload and also provide opportunities aplenty to up and coming athletes rising through the ranks.(Badminton has somewhat been able to support the lower level players too.) Athletes need to be respectful of the fans, investors and event organizers and do their duty as they are the prime capital on which the whole show is running. The fans need to always place themselves in the shoes of their favourite players and not be so quick to be upset and share their unfiltered and unadulterated opinion without considering the effects it may cause, Just wait for a while, think about it, understand all the situations and then thoughtfully post any social comments while respecting all the parties involved. We can be civilized and have meaningful discussions about sensitive topics. There is no point in blazing up the matter to flares. We are first and foremost here to enjoy badminton, at the end of the day, sport should win, we should enjoy our time and return to our lives looking forward to the next match.
What can we do?
We can be advocates and ambassadors of the sport. We can promote proper practices online and offline. We can encourage more people to get involved and become healthy by playing the sport.We can enjoy more by watching badminton and we can engage in our badminton community to have a fun time.
What to do today?
Pick up a racquet and 'Love all play'.
Thank you for reading through my article patiently. I hope you will be the advocates of the sport and promote having fun and responsible behavior hand in hand.
