At the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton League, most women’s doubles players will be conspicuous by their absence.
That is due to the fact that the league’s organisers have decided to sacrifice women’s doubles in favour of an extra men’s singles match in each five-match round.
“At our last governing council meeting, we felt that a women’s doubles match, when compared to the second men’s singles match, will not attract much interest. Moreover, most international women’s doubles players aren’t that recognisable. Basically, nobody knows them,” was the explanation proffered by Ashish Chadha, CEO of Sporty Solutionz, rights-holders of the IBL.
Apart from the fact that an entire discipline in badminton was given the boot, the result of that decision was that each women doubles specialist’s value was reduced by half, since she would now feature only in the mixed doubles.
It was exemplified, in a rather humiliating fashion, in Monday’s players’ auction where two of the country’s premiere women’s doubles players, and icons at that — Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa — attracted very little interest.
Both went unsold for their original base price of $50,000 each. Then, adding insult to injury, the organisers halved their base price. The second time around, Jwala was acquired by Delhi Smashers for $31,000 while Pune Pistons got Ashwini for the new base price of $25,000.
The IBL guarantees that the difference — $19,000 in Jwala’s case and $25,000 for Ashwini — will be compensated by the respective franchisees.
“When they went unsold, we reduced their base price to ensure they get a chance to play as they will then be assured of their original base price of $50,000. The franchisees are bound by agreement to compensate them to the tune of the difference,” explains Chadha.
However, it isn’t about the money for Jwala and Ashwini — who had together won India’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal (2010) and the country’s first medal in 28 years at the world championships (2012).
“More than base price being brought down, I’m disappointed by the fact that no one from the IBL or the BAI had the decency to tell me. If anyone had told me, this wouldn’t have hit me in the face the way it did,” said a terse Ashwini.
“The whole turn of events has soured it for me,” she added.
Jwala, however, was none too surprised. “Being a doubles player, I’m used to such treatment,” she said, adding that doubles players were always given short shrift by the BAI.
“I was hoping the IBL would change the way things worked, but that doesn’t seem to be the case,” said the outspoken shuttler, who also felt that those advising the franchisees are doing a poor job.