“We have to shut down the camp in a few weeks.”
The Indian training camp is experiencing a lack of shuttles for training and the national association Badminton Association of India (BAI) has sought the help of the government to avert this impending ‘shuttle crisis.’
The ‘crisis’ comes after the government banned the import of Chinese made products. BAI has a contract with Japanese giant Yonex but the majority of the Yonex shuttles are made in China.
The Times of India reported that head coach Pullela Gopichand bought all the available shuttles after the government announced the ban. But he said that the stock would last only a few weeks.
Gopichand said, “If this situation continues, we have to shut down the camp in a few weeks.”
He said domestic production of goose feather shuttles was needed in the country to keep up with the demand adding “How long can we depend on imports? We have to ramp up domestic production.”
He also said the country should start producing synthetic shuttles as soon as possible since BWF would be introducing them in the near future.
It is also learned that BAI has contacted Yonex about the lack of shuttles. Yonex has reportedly said that they were unable to fulfil the supply-demand to the academies at the moment.