Shuttle crisis: BAI, Yonex flag urgent need for alternatives

Badminton in India is facing a shuttle crisis as feather supply drops and costs double, with BAI, Yonex and Gopichand stressing urgent need for synthetic alternatives and possible government support

New Delhi: The humble shuttlecock, the lifeline of badminton, has become the sport’s biggest worry with prices of imported feather shuttles more than doubling in the past year amid an acute shortage of raw material in China.

A recent article in French newspaper L’Equipe attributed the crisis to changing food habits in China, where preference for pork over duck and goose meat has reduced poultry farming, and to a global surge in badminton’s popularity.

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The squeeze has forced India’s top stakeholders to admit the sport can no longer depend solely on goose and duck feathers.

“Sooner or later, we have to move away from feathers as a natural product. The sport has grown exponentially, and between China, Indonesia and India alone, we account for nearly two-fifths of the world’s population consuming shuttles,” chief national coach Pullela Gopichand told PTI.

“The scarcity isn’t just about fewer ducks or geese being reared, it’s also because more people are playing badminton. That’s a good sign, but unless we find lab-grown or synthetic options, we will have a problem. I am confident a breakthrough will come in the next five years.”

While reports suggested Gopichand’s academy in Hyderabad was left with less than two weeks of shuttle reserves, BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra said supply to national camps will stabilise this week but admitted the long-term challenge remains.

“Yonex has assured us shipments after August 20, so there’s no immediate panic. The shortage hasn’t affected the camp or any tournament. But these shuttles are made of goose and duck feathers, and as demand rises globally, we have to think of alternatives.

“I had a discussion with BWF during a meeting, they have been experimenting with plastic shuttles but somehow they didn’t have the same control or accuracy.”

Karan Dhar, Managing Director of Yonex India, also assured to fast-track deliveries.

“We are working to address the immediate concerns. Shipments are expected shortly, and in a day or two, we will be sending shuttles to Hyderabad and the national camps. The tentative schedule is around August 20, but we are trying to expedite it,” he said.

Dhar conceded the shortage is severe and unlikely to be temporary.

“This is essentially a raw material issue. The supply of feathers has dropped and costs have escalated sharply. It has definitely affected demand and made the sport costlier, especially for players who cannot afford such high prices,” he said.

“Even if production is shifted outside China, the basic feathers still come from there, so the dependence is very high. Efforts are underway to develop synthetic or hybrid shuttles — Yonex is working on innovations but a complete replacement hasn’t yet been found.”

The price of a tube of high-quality shuttles has soared from Rs 1,200 at the end of 2023 to nearly Rs 3,000 now. GST adds 12 per cent to already inflated imported prices, prompting calls for government intervention.

“I think that is a possibility wherein maybe the government can be requested if they could reduce the import duties or the taxes that may help in lowering the cost of the physician box making it slightly more competitive,” Dhar said.

“That discussion is going on. Yes, even they are aware of it. Even the association is having difficulty because of the increase in costs.”

India has a few production units in Kerala and West Bengal, but they are limited in scale and quality and have struggled to compete with mass-produced Chinese imports.

Asked what role India can play, Gopichand said: “Shuttle costs are already a big reason why badminton is so expensive. If we can bring them down, the sport will grow even bigger.

“I don’t think that we are going to eat duck as much or could produce as much duck feather, that’s not going to be the case. But India’s research institutions like IITs can play a role in developing feather-like materials. We cannot remain dependent on nature of food consumption in one country for the future of an entire sport.

“I think before the entire ecosystem come to a halt because the bird flu affected it in the past, now scarcity is affecting it, so it’s not good that you’re dependent on nature in China for an entire sport so it’s imperative that we find the right answers quickly,” he signed off.