Under-fire national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand says players are not being "deprived" of participation in international tournaments and the current national camp will only help them perform better in tournaments abroad.
Criticised for not being supportive of the players, the former All England champion also said that the international calendar is strewn with events and the players would come up with better results if they took a break from the hectic schedule and increase their fitness and stamina.
"It (the camp) has been done with a good intention. They have been playing continuously since last year. At some point they need to take a break and train because it is not only important to participate but also to show better results," Gopichand said.
"Players are not being deprived of playing. Nobody is stopping anyone from playing. There are enough tournaments left in the calendar. There are 10 Super Series events, 10-12 Grand Prix events, World Championship, Asian Satellites -- there are around 25 tournaments to perform," Gopichand said.
The Badminton Association of India has made it mandatory for players to participate in the ongoing national camp before the Sudirman Cup.
Top players, including national champion Chetan Anand, had asked the federation to allow them to participate in the Super Series events in Singapore and Indonesia on their own but the federation refused permission, sparking off a debate.
Gopichand said the performance of players in the European Circuit was not up to expectations, so the idea was to utilize this period to enhance their fitness ahead of the Sudirman Cup.
"I thought the players could have performed better in the European circuit. They have been playing continuously since last year. There was almost no break. So we thought it was important for them to devote some time for training ahead of the packed international schedule," he said.
"The Sudirman Cup is very valuable for us. We need to perform well in it," he said.
"I have played the game long enough to know that playing continuously does not give you the desired results," Gopichand said, when asked to comment about former players' expressing surprise saying he himself had been a victim of the BAI's attitude but is still following the same course as coach.
"It's my responsibility to look after the players who have joined the camp. For players who are not taking part, BAI will decide on them," he said.
Asked whether the players' ranking will suffer if they do not play in international events in an Olympic qualification year, he said, "We have seen players going to South Africa, New Zealand and Kenya to go up in the rankings. Do we want to follow that route? It's not only important to qualify for Olympics but also to perform there."
Asked whether he was satisfied with the way the camp is progressing, he replied, "The camp is going on very well. The players are happy with the way they are being trained. Anup Sridhar is injured, so he asked permission to be exempted from the camp for two weeks."
Meanwhile, former badminton players trained their guns at the BAI, saying that the federation is behaving in an "autocratic" manner and trying to "impose" themselves on the players.
Leroy D'Sa said the association should try to look into the reasons why players are shying away from the camp.
"They (BAI) are trying to be dominating. Stopping players from playing is not the right thing. Playing in a tournament is as important as training in camps," D'Sa said.
"This is an Olympic qualification year and, at this juncture, it is important for players to play and enhance their chances of qualification.
"They are behaving in an autocratic way restricting certain players.
"There is no financial burden on the BAI. Players are participating on their own. Why should a player be stopped in playing tournament?"
Former international Uday Pawar felt that top players would not get the attention they require if too many players are called in the camp.
"To call 45 players for the camp defeats the purpose as none can be given personalised attention," he said.
"Players need personalised coaching by experienced coaches, preferably former players. Gopichand fits the bill but not some other people, who have not even played at club level," Pawar said.
"It's understandable if the camps are team event-specific, like for the Thomas and Uber Cups, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympics," Pawar said.
