Pullela Gopichand calls for tackling age fraud at junior level

India's chief badminton coach Pullela GopiChand has emphasised for a "system- driven, coach-led and athlete- centric" integrated approach if the country wants to improve upon the London and Rio Games' performances at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Speaking at 'The Conclave' --- enhancing performance of Indian badminton in the global arena --- Gopi underlined the ills that have been hindering the progress of the game in the country. " The authorities concerned have to immediately plug loopholes affecting the entire badminton scenario in the country. There is an urgent need to create a favourable eco-system for players, coaches and the support staff," said the former All England Badminton champion here on Friday.

Gopi particularly pin pointed at "age-fraud" in the sub- junior and junior level in order to tackle this menace. " This is hurting our promising players because some are taking advantage of the loophole in the system," he added.

He also called upon Badminton Association of India's (BAI) new president Himanta Biswa Sharma to make sure that efforts of coaches and support staff must be recognised at every level.

"There are so many coaches, who attend or visit the national camps, other than me. They haven't been paid any amount by the BAI or the government. Those getting paid are working for Rs 40, 000-60,000. The motivation level of the support staff is at the lowest and we can't have people working full-time for that amount," said Gopi.

Sarma, on his part, promised to provide health insurance cover for the shuttlers and develop the men's and women's doubles field by providing them the same facilities at par with their singles counterparts.