World champion and Rio Olympics silver-medallist PV Sindhu, World Championship bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth and world no.10 men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have qualified for the Tokyo Games.
Follow Us
Tokyo Olympics : Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary-general Ajay Singhania called sports minister Kiren Rijiju to tell him about the kind of preparation Indian shuttlers are doing for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
“On BAI President @himantabiswa’s advice, GS Ajay Singhania today met Hon’ble Sports Minister @KirenRijiju. &updated him about the status & immediate needs of Tokyobound #badminton players. The Minister is upbeat about preparation &wished shuttlers to bring laurels for the nation,” BAI tweeted.
World champion and Rio Olympics silver-medallist PV Sindhu, World Championship bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth qualified. In addition to this world no.10 men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also qualified.
The BAI had recently written to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to allow four coaches, including chief coach Pullela Gopichand, and two physios to travel with the four shuttlers to Tokyo.
The sports ministry had decided against sending its delegation to Tokyo Olympics to accommodate “maximum” support staff, including coaches and physios, for the athletes competing in the Summer Games.
Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was unable to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. He wants the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to reconsider the matter and make a decision. BWF confirmed no tournaments will be played inside the qualifying window. As a result, not just Kidambi but Saina Nehwal too missed the chance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Singapore Open was cancelled at the beginning of the month due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Singapore Open is a Super 500 event on the BWF World Tour, and was the last qualifying event for the Tokyo ranking points inside the qualifying window.
The Indian shuttler said the governing body could reconsider the decision. It will help players who are trying for the Tokyo Olympics.
“See there is nothing much that you and I could have done. Things in the last couple of months went out of control. But BWF can look into this matter and probably take a decision that will help every player. Five-six tournaments were cancelled,” Kidambi Srikanth told ANI.
(With inputs from PTI)
