Hyderabad is home to most of India’s star badminton players. It is also Ground Zero of a nasty rift opening up in Indian women’s badminton. It’s all about Saina Nehwal and Jwala Gutta, the reigning queens, one in singles and the other in doubles. Several other top players such as Ashwini Ponnappa, Parupalli Kashyap and Guru Sai Dutt train in the academies here, most notably the one run by former All-England winner Pullela Gopichand. The air at the academy has been a little frosty lately, however.
The reason is the recent outburst by Gutta complaining that she and other star players don’t get the same treatment as Nehwal in terms of government rewards, sponsorship, endorsements and media attention. The doubles star went public with her grievance that she has not been given her due despite her stellar achievements. These include the doubles bronze with Ponnappa at the World Championships in London last month, the first time an Indian has won a medal since Prakash Padukone in 1983, the doubles gold at the Commonwealth Games last year, and 13 other national titles.
Last month, when Gutta landed at the Shamshabad airport in Hyderabad after winning the bronze in London, only her father and a clutch of friends were there to receive her. Sure, it was 5 am when Gutta landed but the lukewarm reception was in marked contrast to the rah-rah welcome Nehwal gets whenever she returns from a victory. The badminton bureaucracy, fans, the media turn up to escort her home; the government rolls out the red carpet and showers her with honours.
It wasn’t until a week later that Gutta was invited to the presence of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy for a well-done handshake, an oh-my inspection of her bronze medal. A similar photo-op was arranged with the sports minister this week. But by way of a reward or sponsorship, Gutta got nothing. In comparison, when Nehwal won a tournament in Taiwan last year, she got a cheque for `25 lakh from the state government. Gutta has got zilch so far; Ponnappa was gifted `50,000 by Karnataka, her
home state.
“This is unfair and extremely discouraging,” says Gutta. “Saina won the Commonwealth singles gold, and Ashwini and I won the doubles gold. She got all the attention and deals while we got nothing.” The shy Ponnappa adds her voice of protest to Gutta’s. But such are the ways of brand creation and promotion. Nehwal is coached and advised by Gopichand, and emerged as a star when that other icon of women’s sports, Sania Mirza, was waning.
She’s younger, plays an individual sport, and in terms of personality and image, is more amenable to being moulded as a ‘marketable icon’. Plus, she has been taken under the wing by sports management firm Percept D’Mark. This has won her endorsement deals and appointment as brand ambassador by a major media house.
In image management terms, Gutta shares many of the attributes as Nehwal. She too is at the top of her game; she is well-spoken—and outspoken—dresses stylishly and is comfortable with public attention. “This isn’t a personal issue with Nehwal. She deserves everything she’s got. But it is very discouraging to other players when she gets all the attention while others get nothing despite doing well,” she says.
Gutta and Ponnappa add that self-sourced efforts can get a talented player only so far; to really fulfil one’s potential, he or she needs a lot of ‘back’. That’s particularly true of racquet sports like tennis and badminton, where preparing for and travelling to international tournaments costs a packet.
At the heart of the discrimination, Gutta says, is the perception that some games are superior to others and that within a sport, singles are better than doubles. “We train and practice as hard. The doubles game is faster and more exciting. So why aren’t we given our due? In China and Malaysia they don’t discriminate between singles and doubles. Here I’m called a cribber.”
Nehwal disagrees that the badminton hierarchy, media and the state government have been kinder to her. “I do not believe that the Badminton Association of India is being partial to me. It’s just that players need to perform consistently and stay in the limelight long enough to get picked up by sponsors. Just one performance is not good enough. It took me time too. I had to struggle and keep form while for a while before I got a sponsorship break.” But she agrees with Gutta and Ponnappa that badminton is an expensive sport. “Unless you are very rich, it isn’t easy.”
Face-off
SAINA NEHWAL
Age: 21 years
Coaches: Late Mehboob Ali, Syed Mohammad Arif, Bhaskar Babu and Pullela Gopichand
Highest ranking: 2nd in the world (Dec 2010)
Current ranking: 5th in the world
Awards: Khel Ratna, Arjuna
Titles: Indonesia Super Series 2009, Singapore Super Series 2010, Indonesia Super Series 2010, Hong Kong Super Series 2010, Chinese Taipei Open 2010, Indian Open Grand Prix, Swiss Open 2011
Medals: Gold in girls singles at World Championships, Pune, 2010; gold in women’s singles, Commonwealth Games Delhi, 2010; bronze in women’s singles at Asian Championship 2010
JWALA GUTTA
Age: 27 years
Coach: Syed Mohammad Arif
Current ranking: 17th in women’s doubles
Best ranking: 17th in women’s doubles
Titles: Six times national women’s doubles with Shruti Kurien
Achievements: (with Shruti Kurien) Runner-up at Toulouse Open and Portuguese championship 2004; winner of Sri Lanka International tournament 2006; winner of Cyprus international 2006; Dutch Open Grand Prix 2008; (with Ashwini Ponnappa) gold at Commonwealth Games; bronze in World Championship, London, 2011; (with V Diju in mixed doubles) winner of Bitburger Open Grand Prix 2008; and Bulgaria Open Grand Prix 2008; finalist in World Super Series Masters, Malaysia, 2009
