Ban players who fudge age, says Gopichand

TIL Desk Sports/ India’s chief national coach Pullela Gopichand believes the Badminton Association of India (BAI) should ban players who indulge in age-fudging as ‘examples’ need to be made of wrongdoers for any tangible change.

“I think you need to have firm decisions and strong examples to ensure that age fudging which is a big menace should stop, so there should be a ban on the players,” Gopichand said.

Age-fudging has been a big problem in Indian sports with some associations such as the Indian cricket board (BCCI) and Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) handing out bans on players found guilty.

Former India coach Vimal Kumar, who guided Saina Nehwal to the world No 1 position and the All England Championship final in 2015, however, feels banning the players will be unfair. “Banning a player for 2-3 years is not right because suspending them will kill a talent,” he said.