Maharashtra Badminton Association has requested the President of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to recommend to open badminton Activities.

by Ajay Padnekar

Maharashtra: (news.kvartha.com 19.10.2020) The Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) has requested the Badminton Association of India President Himanta Bishwa Sharma to recommend to the government to allow badminton activities in the state which are closed for the last 7 months as part of the lockdown regulation.

Two weeks ago, MBA president Arun Lakhani and tournament secretary Mankesh Kashikar visited state sports minister Sunil Kedar and requested him to resume badminton activities in the state. In the absence of any action on the part of the government, the state body requested Mr. Sharma to look into the matter and recommend it. The letter containing the request was handed over by MBA President Arun Lakhani to BAI chief Sharma, who was on a private visit to Nagpur on Sunday.

The Maharashtra government has already issued several proposals to restart various activities as part of the unlock process. Institutions such as commercial establishments, hotels, and bars are allowed to open but indoor sports are not allowed. The letter pointed out that the Government needs to understand the pain and discomfort of thousands of badminton players and hundreds of coaches in the state who have been expecting for the last seven months and it would be a great loss to our state if many of the best players in the state approach other states for training where badminton activities are already resumed.

Himanta Bishwa Sharma, a senior minister in the Assam government, has promised to talk to Aditya Thackeray, state minister and the son of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, and to resume badminton activities in all districts of Maharashtra in a few days.