LUCKNOW, June 12 -- The city's vibrant badminton community is facing a setback as three of its premier public venues-KD Singh 'Babu' Stadium, Chowk Stadium and Vijayant Khand Stadium - fall into disrepair. Once celebrated as fertile grounds for nurturing Lucknow's future shuttlers, these grassroots hubs have devolved into a story of chronic neglect, jeopardising the development of young athletes.

These courts are now a story of neglect - cracked surfaces, fading markings, inadequate lighting and a lack of basic maintenance turns practice into a safety hazard.

The badminton hall at the KD Singh 'Babu' Stadium looks uncared-for. Currently unavailable for shuttlers, its synthetic flooring is worn out in patches, creating an uneven surface ...