Pal gives tips to trainees at the coaching camp on Sunday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Aug. 10: The trade hub may be gearing up to host the senior state badminton championship for the first time this month, but for the past 30 years, Ramakrishna Bayam Shiksha Sangha has been fighting a lone battle to keep the game alive here.

“Apart from Ramakrishna Sangha, Baghajatin Athletics Club and Teesta Barrage Recreation Club used to organise coaching camps in Siliguri, but they have stopped doing so since the late nineties,” said Swapan Bose, the secretary of the Darjeeling District Badminton Association.

“In the early and mid-nineties, shuttlers like Shantanu Bose, Pallab Sen, Prasenjit Saha and Tapas Bose made it to the state team from Siliguri and north Bengal. But after 2000, the trend stopped. Now, besides Ramakrishna Sangha in Siliguri, there are only three other centres in north Bengal — Alipurduar, Raiganj and Jalpaiguri — where the game is still played regularly,” Bose added.

Currently, the coaching camp at Ramakrishna Sangha has 35 shuttlers in the age group 6-18 years. “We also have some amateur players who practice here regularly just to keep fit. Our coaching centre runs with their donations,” said Subrata Biswas, the secretary of the club.

“We will continue to organise such camps as long as it is possible”, Biswas added.

The coach, Priyaranjan Pal, used to play for the railways and has been attached with the camp here for the last three years. “We could not have carried on without the support of the club’s management,” he said.

Pal and Bose both agreed that the lack of exposure and high cost of equipment — be it rackets or shuttles — were the reason why badminton lost popularity. “Badminton players don’t get the scope to participate in a lot of tournaments to increase their skills and get recognition. Moreover, the equipment have become too costly,” Pal said.

According to the coach, a standard shuttle costs Rs 90 and at least four to five shuttles are needed for a day’s practice. The price of racket, on the other hand, is Rs 2,500-3,000, which is beyond the means of most youngsters.

“But here in our club, the players get some advantages as we charge a nominal fee of Rs 50 a month, which is far less than any club in Calcutta, where the charges are Rs 350-400 a month,” said Pal.

Shuttlers in Ramakrishna Sangha also get to use the club’s indoor coaching hall, where two large courts allow eight players to practice simultaneously.

The efforts of the club has allowed shuttlers like Payel Ghosh, a hearing impaired girl, to make a mark on the international scene.

“Payel was in the Indian squad that won a bronze in the team event in Melbourne 2005 Deaflympic Games. She and Jui Sarkar, another trainee of Ramakrishna Sangha, also won the doubles gold in the national championship for the deaf four years running from 2003-06,” said Pal.

The 71st Senior State Badminton Championship will be held at the Indoor Stadium here from August 14-17.