In the Dutch badminton world, people prefer not to be openly critical, says Robert Hoogland, chairman of the oldest badminton club Drop Shot, founded in 1947. The resident of The Hague has less difficulty with that. He believes that the discontinuation of the NOC-NSF subsidy for badminton is a logical consequence of the badminton association’s “muddling along” policy. “There are hardly any potential Olympic candidates, the Eredivisie level is declining every year. The association develops plans and deploys core groups, but does not act on them,” says Hoogland.
NOC-NSF expects that Dutch badminton players will have no chance of winning a medal at the next two Olympic Games in Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032). The sports association must also take into account less government money due to government cuts. For these reasons, NOC-NSF advised the badminton association last May not to submit a budget plan for the next four years.
The negative advice came like a “bolt from the blue,” say two directors of the badminton association in the Badminton Inside podcast. They said they had not received any alarming signals beforehand. Despite the advice, the association decides to lobby hard and submit a plan.
Despite all efforts, NOC-NSF announced at the end of November that the subsidies will indeed stop. No subsidy “saves a sip on a drink,” says an executive in the podcast. The association’s budget must be reduced from €900,000 to €300,000. As a result, the national coach must be funded by the association itself. Assistance for individual players is still being looked into.
Angry and disappointed
The badminton association is angry and disappointed in NOC-NSF, which is following a new course. Previously, past results were leading. An approach that was beneficial for the badminton association, according to the association directors. Although badminton star Mia Audina won the only Dutch medal ever in 2004, Dutch badminton players were always present at the Games. Nowadays NOC-NSF looks ahead and uses data to determine which sport is promising. The badminton association doubts whether it can already be predicted how players will perform in 2032.
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Drop Shot chairman Hoogland believes that the Dutch badminton world has been in financial decline for ten years. Between 2010 and 2022, the number of association members fell from approximately 59,000 to 36,000. NOC-NSF “of course” also sees this, according to Hoogland. Drop Shot was able to “charter” a few players, but most talents opt abroad, because money can still be made with badminton there. Germany is popular, the French competition is doing well and those who really have quality leave for Denmark. Then Asia might beckon, where successful badminton players cannot walk quietly on the streets.
Hoogland (58) stands on Saturday afternoon at the edge of the blue badminton court in the Mariahoeve Sports Center in The Hague, near Huis ten Bosch Palace. Around his neck hangs a red and white promotional scarf from 2019, when the club returned to the Eredivisie after 25 years. The hall is still empty, but an hour and a half later Drop Shot, which is third (out of eight) in the rankings, will play against leader Almere.
Makeshift VIP table
The competition location must convey that badminton is played at the highest national level, Hoogland believes. That is why volunteers try to create an atmosphere worthy of the Premier League in the rented sports hall. There are billboards around the playing field, there is an improvised VIP table for the main sponsor and exciting music blasts from the sound system. He is less pleased with the match decor of some other Premier League clubs. “Man, too sad, I would never take a relationship there.”
If you want to forge a championship team in the Netherlands, the chairman says, 55,000 euros per year is enough. More than budgeted for his first team. Unfortunately, business people find it difficult to find their way to the badminton court compared to football, says Hoogland. Three SMEs are currently keeping things afloat at Drop Shot. “Our club is especially popular among employed people who do not have a business.”
An hour before the match, head coach Paul de Graaf (48) – black training pants, blue sweater – calls the Drop Shot players together. A boy and a girl from a lower team fill in for two injured people. They make their debut in the Eredivisie. The boy is from China, so the trainer alternates between English and Dutch. “Almere is very strong, so it will be difficult to score points,” the trainer begins. “Encourage each other, give instructions.”
It has become more difficult to motivate players, De Graaf explains when the discussion is over and the players are warming up. Prior to the current season, the badminton association determined that only the numbers one and two from the Eredivisie will from now on play a final at the end of the season. The play-offs were cancelled. A money issue, says the trainer, which means that only Almere and Haarlem’s Duinwijck will play for the title.
Drop Shot gave everything every season to reach the play-offs, so that there could be stunts during the well-attended final. But when second place disappeared halfway through the season, the club board decided to invest less money in good players. “Normally we played hard with everything we had, but now we make choices based on money instead of team spirit, performance and good badminton,” says the trainer.
The decisions of the badminton association and NOC-NSF are mentally difficult for his players to swallow, he notices. But the issue also arises at home. De Graaf’s thirteen-year-old son is in the national under-15 selection and had mapped out a career path to top sports training center Papendal. “They are now being told: there is no more Papendal for badminton players,” says De Graaf while a power ballad blares through the room.
Camping sports
Meanwhile, large drums are brought in by both teams, which are banged hard after each point achieved. “Many people see badminton as something for the campsite,” says Drop Shot badminton player Kelly van Buiten (22). But in reality it is “a very fast, explosive sport for smart people.” It’s all about tactical ability, technique, and the constant alternation of intensive and lighter effort, she says. “In other sports it is important to completely break down, but in badminton it is also about hitting the right angle, with the right speed. That makes badminton so beautiful.”
For Van Buiten, badminton was “really above everything”, but last summer she left the Dutch selection. The Biotechnology student wanted to pursue a second bachelor’s degree, Health & Society. Now she trains in the morning and evening and studies in between. “I would rather die completely on the track than go to the pub.”
Due to NOC-NSF’s decision, she has the feeling that the sports association is “trampling badminton to death”, because without subsidies it is very difficult to train at top level. New talent now has to worry about arranging a place to live, training locations, tournaments, strength training.
Van Buiten arranges the financial side of her sport herself, because she comes from a family of three and her father has passed away. After a month of European tournaments, a bill for three thousand euros arrives. That causes stress, she says. It helps that she works as a trainer, has sponsors and can use the weight room at Wageningen University. “Fortunately, some badminton players get parents crazy enough to drive from here to here and pay all the bills.”
In the wooden stands, two women watch how Van Buiten’s teammate Iris van Leijsen warms up. Nicole van Leijsen from Brabant is “always” present at her daughter’s premier league matches. In The Hague or at away matches. The NOC-NSF decision ends up on the shoulders of parents, she says. “We pay for everything. Airfare, accommodation, tournament fees.”
Hop hop hop
The players enter the field just after six. The chairman introduces players, trainers and referees to the audience. In and around the stands, about sixty spectators are clapping their hands. There is a separate court for the eight men and eight women from Drop Shot and Almere. They take action individually or as a pair in succession.
But not before both teams put their heads together for a yell. “Hop hop hop, gooooo Drop Shot,” shouts the home team from The Hague. The opponent brings there: “Who are we? Almere! Black and yellow Almere! One for all, all for Almere.” As the matches progress, the Drop Shot drum is beaten less and less. The Hague club ultimately lost 0-8 to Almere without a chance and dropped to fourth place.
Correction (16/12): in an earlier version of this article, sports association NOC-NSF was incorrectly stated as ‘NOS-NSF’. That has been adjusted.