Sania not happy with BAI selection policy, criticises BAI

Saina Nehwal opts out of CWG and Asiad, accuses BAI of pulling her down

Sania Nehwal, Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist is not happy with the timing of selection trials and criticised the Badminton Association of India for “putting” her down of the two big sporting events later this year.

Saina, a former world no 1, said she had informed BAI about her decision to skip the trials which begin at the IG Stadium on Friday but it did not mean that she was not eager to participate in the major events including the Commonwealth Games and Asiad.

“Surprised to see all the articles stating that I don’t want to defend my CWG title and my Asiad medal. I’m just not participating in the trials because I just got back from 3 weeks of Europe events and according to the schedule there’s Asian Championships,” Saina tweeted.

“In 2 weeks’ time, as a senior player to participate in back-to-back events nonstop is impossible and it’s risking injuries, such short notice is not possible. I’ve conveyed this to BAI but there has been no response from them. It seems like they’re happy to put me out of CWG n Asiad.”

BAI has exempted players inside the top 15 in the BWF rankings from the trials but said shuttlers ranked between 16 to 50 in the latest world rankings, released on March 29, will have to participate in the trials to be selected for the team.

Speaking to ESPN earlier, Saina’s husband, Parupalli Kashyap, was critical of BAI’s handling of the issue, saying “She didn’t even receive the circular about the trials. I had to show it to her. There’s been absolutely no effort from the federation to even reach out to Saina. It’s unfortunate that someone who’s won so many medals for the country is being treated so shabbily today.”

The governing body had called for selection trials on April 2 to pick the Indian team for big-ticket events including the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Asian Games in Hangzhou, and Thomas Cup and Uber Cup in Bangkok from May 8 to 15.