A 12-member Indian badminton team was selected for the Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, but only six players attended the managers’ meeting, resulting in the other half being barred from competition despite their presence at the venue. In response, the AIU established an inquiry committee and suspended its joint secretary, Baljit Singh Sekhon.
The six who participated—Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, Saneeth Dayanand, Tasnim Mir, Varshini Viswanath Sri, Devika Sihag, and Vaishnavi Khadkekar—made history by winning a bronze medal in the mixed team event.
However, the players who were excluded—Alisha Khan, Rohan Kumar, Darshan Pujari, Aditi Bhatt, Abhinash Mohanty, and Viraj Kuvale—were omitted from official records, denying them certificates, recognition, and benefits associated with international medals.
This past January, the Sports Ministry issued a show cause notice to the AIU, indicating that the organization had failed in its responsibilities regarding athlete development and planning.
“There are no cash awards; we haven’t provided any rewards, but they did receive their medals. The certificates are still pending, but we’ve reached out to FISU, so we remain hopeful,” AIU secretary general Pankaj Mittal told PTI when questioned about the recognition of the six players.
For these athletes, the last few months have been filled with uncertainty, lacking clear communication from the governing body.
Alisha Khan claimed that multiple attempts to gain clarification from officials have been met with silence.
“While we were in Germany, AIU organized a Zoom meeting for the players, attended by its general secretary, Ms. Pankaj Mittal. They assured us that upon our return to India, we would receive equal recognition, cash rewards, and merit certificates, similar to the other six players,” she stated.
“We were encouraged to post on Instagram with our medals, indicating that we received them due to AIU, while we actually wrote to FISU and its organizers to explain our situation, leading to the medals being given to us as a memento.
“Since returning to India, not a single email has been answered, and getting someone on the phone has been impossible. Even if they answer, they redirect us to another official. We’ve had no clear communication. Our state associations are pressing for merit certificates to provide us cash awards,” she continued.
Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, a medal-winning player, expressed frustration over the lack of clarity for everyone involved.
“They did promise cash awards, but then everything went quiet. We tried reaching out to them, but we’re met with silence,” he conveyed.
“We have no written evidence, but every player remembers what was promised and what transpired; we know the struggle we faced. We didn’t even have T-shirts.
“Receiving the medals was tough, especially while our fellow players were left in tears on the sidelines. We didn’t want to receive the medals under these conditions, but we felt threatened.” Aditi Bhatt, among the excluded players, stated that the lack of official certification makes the medals feel worthless.
“We were promised certificates acknowledging our role on the bronze medal-winning Indian team; we received medals, but their value is diminished without the certificates.
“They told us that once we returned, we would be honored, recognized, and receive cash awards. We complied by being there for team support, but afterward, there was nothing.” The excluded players were later awarded medals by the International University Sports Federation as a symbolic act, but these lack official validation in terms of records or entitlements.
With no public results from the AIU inquiry and no formal recognition given so far, these players continue to await closure on an experience that robbed them of the opportunity to compete on the international stage.
