Major blow for Saina, Srikanth

New Delhi, May 6: London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal and men’s star Kidambi Srikanth’s last hopes of Olympic qualification hang in balance as the Indian government negotiates for their participation in the Malaysian Open amid a ban on flights from India in that country.

Following the postponement of the India Open (May 11-16), Saina and Srikanth’s hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Games hinge on the (May 25-30) Kuala Lumpur event followed by the Singapore Open (June 1-6).

In the wake of an unprecedented Covid-19 surge in India, Malaysia and Singapore have banned flights from the country effective April 28.

“The Sports Ministry, through the Ministry of External Affairs, has approached the Malaysian Government requesting to grant permission to the Indian Badminton Team to travel to Malaysia to participate in the Malaysian Open scheduled from May 25 to May 30,” the Sports Authority of India said.

“This is in light of a temporary travel ban that has been imposed by Malaysia on travellers from India, owing to the rising Covid19 cases in India,” it added.

After an initial request made earlier this week, the Indian High Commission in Malaysia “received information from the Malaysian Government that the travel of the team may not be possible immediately.”

The tournament is one of the last events that contribute to Olympic qualification which ends on June 15. All top Indian singles and doubles players like P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, Sai Praneeth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy are due to participate in this.