So now girls have to wear skirts to play badminton. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) expects Saina Nehwal to do a Maria Sharapova and Jwala Gutta to do a Serena Williams for the sport.

It is quite a peculiar situation where women, instead of being asked to dress 'conservatively' as they usually are especially in India, are being asked to dress, ahem, forward.

The BWF feels that this move will boost the sport's profile among viewers and sponsors. Funny that the organisation that heads the sport thinks that the sport is not good enough to attract viewers and sponsors on its own merit. Moreover, only the women require a makeover, not the men.

Why doesn't anybody ever tell the men how to dress up? Whether it is the clerics or the BWF, why do they direct their suggestions, advice or instructions towards the women only?

One argument being floated around is that the popularity of sports like tennis is partly because of female stars like Maria Sharapova or the Williams sisters.

Arguably the best female tennis player ever, probably even an inspiration to the Williams sisters and Sharapova, Steffi Graff, liked her racket do the talking. People remember her and get inspired by her for exactly that: her game.

Moreover, in countries like India, where girls are told to dress 'appropriately' and are hardly encouraged to get into sports, badminton may end up becoming an elitist sport and its following may actually decline!

It is sad that some people think the only way to make a sport attractive is to make it saleable for TV rights and sponsorships. Their efforts would yield much better results if they were to focus on the young talent.

Most of the big stars across sports – Lionel Messi in football, Rafael Nadal in tennis, and our own Sachin Tendulkar in cricket – were lucky to have their talents recognised early and receive proper training. Now, with their talent backed with the consistency that correct training imparts, they are role models for the whole world and encourage people to play and follow their respective sports.

Badminton itself is an example of the same. The sport's profile in India has gone up tremendously thanks to the way Saina Nehwal has performed. She is a role model for youngsters across India and is one of the rare non-cricketing sportspersons to be flocked with sponsors.

The BWF should realise that an Anna Kournikova may attract attention to the sport for a short while, but it takes a Justine Henin to earn it respect.