Menstrual Health in Indian Badminton: Why Better Support Matters for Female Athletes
A teenage badminton player at Hyderabad’s Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy once broke down in tears during practice. Her coach, Hersen Sebastian, could see that something was wrong, but the player struggled to explain. Only after he asked senior girls to check on her did he learn the reason: she had started her period without having a sanitary pad and did not know what to do.
The incident points to a broader challenge in Indian badminton: menstrual health remains difficult to discuss, even in elite training environments. A recent exploratory study by the Simply Sport Foundation (SSF), supported by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), examined how athletes and coaches understand the menstrual cycle and manage its effects. Its findings suggest that better education, communication and access to basic resources could make a meaningful difference to players’ wellbeing and performance.
A knowledge gap beyond the menstrual week
The study, titled Menstrual Cycle Perspectives in Elite Indian Female Badminton Athletes and Coaches, involved eight professional female players and six coaches. Participants included athletes aged 16 to 35 who had competed at school, college or national level and trained in singles for at least two years. Four of the eight athletes had never attended a menstrual-health workshop or awareness session. Only two of the six coaches said they had participated in a workshop on the subject, and just one had a formal sports-science degree.
Lead researcher Tanugatri Majumder said that introducing the topic required care because menstruation is still considered sensitive. The research team needed to create an ethical setting where participants could speak openly while knowing their personal information would be protected. That hesitation is significant: if players feel unable to explain their symptoms, coaches may mistake discomfort or fatigue for a lack of effort.
Understanding the menstrual cycle also means looking beyond the days of bleeding. A period is one part of a cycle that includes hormonal changes across the month, including the follicular phase, ovulation and the luteal phase. Symptoms can arise before or after menstruation and vary considerably between individuals. Former international badminton player Aditi Mutatkar, now Head of Athlete and Women Initiatives at SSF, says awareness at even the elite level is often concentrated on the bleeding phase rather than the full cycle.
Symptoms can affect training before a period begins
For international doubles player Tanisha Crasto, the days before menstruation can be particularly difficult. She has described experiencing severe back pain and cramps, along with cravings for sugary foods, during the premenstrual week. Her experience illustrates why focusing only on the period itself can leave athletes and coaches unprepared for symptoms that affect training earlier in the month.
Players in the study identified the first two days of their cycle as especially disruptive. Reported effects included cramps, lower-back pain, bloating, reduced agility, slower reactions and rapid fatigue. Yet experiences differ: some athletes feel able to train normally, while others may have severe pain, including dysmenorrhea, and need adjustments to their workload.
Light movement or a warm-up can help some players feel better once a session begins. That does not mean every athlete should be expected to push through pain. Instead, the findings support individual monitoring and open conversations, allowing training decisions to reflect a player’s symptoms, recovery and competition schedule rather than a blanket assumption about how menstruation affects performance.
Communication and trust are part of athlete care
Mutatkar recalls trying to hide discomfort during her playing career. She sometimes did more sit-ups than usual because she did not want her coach or training partners to see her as weak. That pressure to prove toughness can make it harder to ask for a modified session, even when an athlete is in pain.
Sebastian says younger players may not initially feel comfortable telling a male coach they have started their period. In some cases, a simple question about whether stomach pain is period-related helps a player realise the coach is willing to listen. Female physiotherapists, trainers and senior teammates can also provide trusted points of contact. The SSF study describes this reliance on female intermediaries as a recurring pattern, particularly among younger athletes.
There are signs of progress. Crasto says female players often support one another at tournaments, sharing supplies and helping when someone faces an unexpected situation. She also values the understanding of her mixed-doubles partner, Dhruv Kapila, who checks how she is feeling and whether she can manage a training session. Such support helps normalise a subject that has too often been treated as private or embarrassing.
Training plans need to reflect individual physiology
Sports and exercise medicine specialist Dr. Sneha T. Sambandam stresses that menstrual symptoms vary widely and should be considered alongside the demands of training. Some athletes perform well during their periods; others experience pain severe enough to benefit from changes to their sessions. The aim is not to impose a fixed cycle-based training formula, but to help athletes and support staff identify patterns and make informed choices.
Physiotherapist Gayathri Shetty says basic care can include hydration, heat applied to the lower abdomen or back, gentle movement and restorative work. She also warns that irregular periods or amenorrhea—the absence of menstruation—can be a sign that an athlete’s body is under strain. Heavy training, inadequate recovery and insufficient energy intake are among the issues that may require professional assessment. Coaches should not try to diagnose these conditions themselves; athletes need access to qualified medical support.
Research into how menstrual-cycle changes relate to performance and injury risk is still developing. Some sports literature has examined possible links between certain cycle phases and non-contact ACL injuries, but findings are not a basis for treating every athlete the same way. More robust research involving female athletes is needed, alongside better coordination between coaches, physiotherapists, trainers, nutritionists and clinicians.
Access to supplies and professional support remains uneven
Education alone cannot solve practical problems. Players and coaches say sanitary-product vending machines are not routinely available in badminton academy washrooms, leaving athletes to arrange supplies themselves. A nearby hostel room can help when a period starts unexpectedly, while quick-commerce services may offer another option—but neither is a substitute for essentials being reliably available at training venues.
Crasto described the facilities at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi as a welcome surprise. Washrooms stocked sanitary pads, tampons and other products, giving athletes access to items that are often missing from everyday training settings. Visible, dependable provision can reduce stress and signal that menstrual health is recognised as part of athlete welfare.
From awareness sessions to lasting policy
The BWF and SSF’s Simply Periods programme aims to improve menstrual-health knowledge among athletes and coaches. SSF has also held workshops for the Badminton Association of India, with coaches a priority audience. For these efforts to have lasting impact, education needs to be paired with confidential support, accessible products and clear pathways to medical care.
The study’s small sample offers an exploratory snapshot, not a complete picture of Indian badminton. Still, it highlights an important principle: there is no single menstrual experience, and assumptions can leave athletes unsupported. As awareness grows, stronger research and practical policies can help players discuss symptoms without stigma, manage training safely and focus on their sport. For Indian badminton, treating menstrual health as a normal part of athlete care is not a side issue—it is an essential step towards a more informed and supportive sporting environment.
