Badminton players stuck at railway station without tickets to participate in National School Championship

KOCHI: A group of young badminton players from Kerala, set to participate in the National School Badminton Championship in Bhopal, found themselves stranded at Ernakulam Railway Station due to a lack of train tickets. Despite being scheduled to depart on the Ernakulam–Nizamuddin Mangala Express at 1:25 pm, only two tickets were confirmed out of the 24 needed for the entire group, which includes players, their coach and a manager.

The students and teachers had expected the state’s education department to handle registration and ticket arrangements, a responsibility that remains unfulfilled. Neither the education nor the sports department has yet intervened to provide alternative arrangements, sparking concern and criticism.

Railway authorities clarified that they had allocated tickets as per the available emergency quota. However, the delay in booking tickets is cited as the primary reason for the shortage. With time running out, the players’ participation in the national championship hangs in the balance, prompting calls for immediate government action to secure travel arrangements.

Critics have pointed out that with the state school games concluding recently, the departments involved should have anticipated potential travel issues. As the clock ticks, the badminton players’ hopes now rest on swift intervention by the government to ensure they don’t miss this crucial opportunity to represent the state on the national stage.