BAI rejects nepotism charges

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Thursday dismissed allegations that several officials had taken their kids along on a goodwill trip to Japan, asserting that the charges are just an attempt to malign the federation.

"The recent media reports hold no truth and even the honorable Sports Minister Vijay Goel has clearly stated in a statement that the event in question was a cultural exchange program and Sports Ministry had nothing to do with the programme," BAI General Secretary (Officiating) Anup Narang said in a statement.

"The media reports stating that investigations have been initiated against the association and the President of BAI Akhilesh Das Gupta are false and misleading. Such efforts are purely been instigated by few interested parties who wants to malign the reputation and prestige of BAI," he added.

Narang also accused BAI General Secretary Vijay Sinha of trying to create a controversy in order to bring the federation into disrepute.

"The BAI would like to bring to notice that General Secretary Vijay Sinha has been expelled by the executive committee held in Bangalore on January 9 and has been using all malicious means out of sheer desperation to bring disrepute to the Federation.

"The BAI is tirelessly working to promote Badminton in the country, and have nurtured a crop of world class players who are not only wining laurels in prestigious and high profile world tour events but also showing supremacy at consecutive Olympics," he said.

"While the association is doing all to support the players and work to grow badminton in India, Sinha and his son, Nishant Sinha, who have been probed by an independent judicial committee have been found guilty of serious charges of sexual harassment, misappropriation, fraud, nepotism, embezzlement and fraud and an FIR has been lodged with Lucknow police based on the advice of the independent body's findings are continuously trying to defame by spreading wrong and misleading information" Narang added.

Sinha has also been expelled from the Uttar Pradesh Badminton Association (UPBA).

--IANS

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