Saina, Srikanth’s Olympic hopes take hit
New Delhi, May 7: The Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament, one of badminton’s last two Olympic qualifying events, was on Friday postponed due to a recent Covid-19 surge in the host country, dealing a severe blow to the qualification hopes of India’s Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth.
The $600,000 event was scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur from May 25 to 30. “All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all participants, but the recent surge in cases left no choice but to postpone the tournament,” Badminton World Federation said in a statement.
“BWF can confirm the rescheduled tournament will no longer take place in the Olympic qualifying window. New tournament dates will be confirmed at a later date.”
The decision came as a huge setback for London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina and men’s star Srikanth in their bid for
● Following the postponement of the India Open (May 1116), Saina and Srikanth’s qualification for the Tokyo Games hinged on the Kuala Lumpur event followed by the Singapore Open (June 1-6).
Olympic qualification.
Following the postponement of the India Open (May 11-16), Saina and
Srikanth’s qualification for the Tokyo Games hinged on the Kuala Lumpur event followed by the Singapore Open (June 1-6).
In light of the new development, Badminton Association of India on Friday reached out to the world body, seeking clarity on the qualification scenario for its shuttlers.
“It’s really unfortunate that the crucial qualifier had to be postponed in this way but that is the time we live in now,” BAI General Secretary Ajay
Singhania said.
“Though four of our players have already qualified and there are few more including Saina and Srikanth who can still make it. I have reached out to BWF Secretary Thomas Lund asking for clarity on the future course of action.”
With Singapore suspending all flights from India, it will be a difficult task for the Indian players, including Saina and Srikanth, to travel to the country for the last qualifier.