If Saina Nehwal is quarantined she will miss India Open and Malaysia Open, deterring her chance of improving her ranking and qualifying for Tokyo Olympics.
Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal. (File Photo: IANS)
Saina Nehwal, who is yet to book her spot for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, is likely to be quarantined for COVID-19 on her return to India after suffering a first-round exit from the ongoing All England Championships.
According to a new advisory related to the virus by Health Ministry of India, all travellers “coming from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain & Germany after 15th February 2020 shall be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days”.
Nehwal, along with her husband Parupalli Kashyap, took part in the Barcelona Open in Spain in February this year. And now if they are to be quarantined for 14 days the duo is likely to miss India Open and Malaysia Open, deterring their chance of improving their rankings and standing chance of Olympic qualification.
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“Every tournament is on the brink of cancellation, Singapore open is cancelled now, we are not sure if we are subject to quarantine for 14 days once we are back as we visited Spain. Every other player is having their visas getting cancelled,” Kashyap tweeted.
Every tournament is on the brink of cancellation , Singapore open is cancelled now , we are not sure if we are subject to quarantine for 14 days once we are back as we visited Spain . Every other player is having their visas getting cancelled .
— Parupalli Kashyap (@parupallik) March 13, 2020
Amid the growing concern, world number 23 Kashyap has erupted in outrage against the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for not doing enough and treating badminton as an amateur sport.
In his Twitter conversation with former India shuttler Jwala Gutta, Kashyap posted a series of tweets condemning the governing body. “BWF has been extremely disappointing in this matter. No stand, every world sporting event is being cancelled. Now it’s spread to the English premier league too,” one of his tweets read.
BWF has been extremely disappointing in this matter . No stand , every world sporting event is being cancelled . Now it’s spread to the English premier league too .
— Parupalli Kashyap (@parupallik) March 13, 2020
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