Bird flu causes shuttle shortage for badminton squad

BIRD flu could claim some unlikely victims – the Olympic aspirations of India's badminton players.

The Badminton Association of India announced yesterday it was calling off training camps ahead of two qualifying events for this summer's Olympic Games due to a shortage of quality feather shuttlecocks caused by a government ban.

Three months ago India's agriculture ministry barred the import of feathers because of the bird flu menace in Asia.

Top shuttles are made with goose feathers, most of them from China and Taiwan. Since the ban the association has been unable to buy feather shuttles, said its chairman, V. K. Verma.

Manufacturers had offered to ship chemically treated shuttles that passed a bird flu inspection by Hong Kong authorities, but the Indian government has yet to lift the ban. Shuttles can also be made with plastic skirts, but the flight of feather and plastic shuttles is marginally different and most top tournaments are played with feather shuttles.

Plastic shuttles are rare in Asia because of the lower cost of feathers.