Akhilesh Das Gupta, the president of Badminton Association of India, has died after a massive heart attack. He was 56.
A prominent politician, the former Mayor of Lucknow, was a prominent figure in Indian badminton.
Akhilesh Das Gupta was also a Rajya Sabha MP for 18 years. A former badminton player, Das Gupta was the son of freedom fighter Babu Banarasi Das.
He changed Indian badminton for good ever since he took over from the then BAI chief VK Verma.
During Das Gupta’s tenure, Saina Nehwal earned a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, whereas PV Sindhu raised the profile of India badminton further, winning a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Besides this, Indian shuttlers too won many laurels during his regime.
His tenure as president of the Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association and the chairman of the UP Badminton Association in the recent past allegedly remained controversial.
He also had stakes in real estate, media and several educational institutions aside from an active interest in politics and sports.
Das, who is a former badminton player, was also the chairman of Badminton Association of India.
The educational institutions he had a stake in include engineering, management, medical and even a university named after his father in Lucknow.
BAI: Know More- Badminton Association of India (BAI) is the governing body of badminton in India.
- BAI is an association registered under the societies act.
- It was formed in 1934, and has been holding national-level tournaments in India since 1936.
- BAI has 28 state members that conduct badminton tournaments and have a 2x voting power compared to the 8 affiliate members, who do not conduct tournaments and have a single vote each in the association.
- It is headquartered in Lucknow, India.
