Saina Nehwal, not part of the Olympics?

Saina Nehwal, former number one badminton player. She is the one who has represented India for continuously three times in the Olympics from 2008. She is the one who started women's badminton and also won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics may not compete in this year's Olympics.

 Saina Nehwal, not part of the Olympics?

According to Badminton World Federation (BWF) rules, a person needs to maintain in the top 16 singles category before April 30 to play in the Olympics Games. Saina Nehwal stands at 20 ranks. Everyone thought that she could improve her rank in the upcoming tournaments.

But due to the ongoing COVID-19 breakout, these tournaments are postponed. If she can retain her rankings in the top 16 before April 30 then she is eligible to participate in the Olympics. Saina Nehwal didn't react to this.

Not only Saina Nehwal is facing this problem, but Kidambi Srikanth is also facing a similar situation and he is currently ranking on the top 14. Unfortunately, if the rank falls then he too couldn't compete in the Olympics. In any case, if the Badminton World Federation extends the time period then they can have a chance.

However, PV Sindhu is in the top- 7 and she has a strong chance in the Olympics. Pullela Gopichand, Former Indian badminton player, Chief National Coach for the Indian badminton team, expressed his concern about the ongoing situation. He stated that it is not good to conduct the Olympics in this situation. He said that it is wrong on the Badminton World Federation part to put players at risk.

We already heard that a ten-year-old sparring partner of the Taiwanese Badminton team, who was close with all players, was caught with Coronavirus. All these players were in Birmingham to play in the All England Championship conducted from March 12-15. Saina Nehwal used Twitter to express her feelings. She wrote on her timeline saying " No way...... really really shocked".

HS Pranoy

Currently, all Indian players who came from Birmingham are in self-isolation. HS Pranoy, top-8 of Badminton said that BWF is taking not good decisions. With the help of social media, players opposed the BWF decision and BWF postponed the upcoming Five Tournaments. Hopefully, Indian players get the chance to participate in the Olympics.