Saina Nehwal slams Badminton Association, says BAI happy to put me out of CWG & Asian games

• Image Credit: Internet

• Apr 18, 2022 | Dhupali Das

Former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal said that she told BAI of her decision to skip the trials, which begin on Friday in New Delhi, but that doesnt mean that she was not interested in competing in key competitions like the one Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

Digital Desk: Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal criticized the Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Thursday over the timing of selection trials for this year's major multi-sport events, alleging that the governing body did not want her to compete at the CWG and Asian Games.

According to PTI, the governing body scheduled selection trials on April 2 to select the Indian team for major tournaments such as the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Asian Games in Hangzhou, and the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup in Bangkok from May 8 to 15.

Former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal said that she told BAI of her decision to skip the trials, which begin on Friday in New Delhi, but that doesnt mean that she was not interested in competing in key competitions like the one Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

"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," she added in the tweet. 

Players in the top 15 in the BWF rankings are exempt from the trials, while shuttlers ranked 16 to 50 in the most recent world rankings, issued on March 29, must compete in the trials to be picked for the team. However, the 32-year-old world champion questioned the wisdom of holding trials now.

"I wish we had better understanding about how to manage a schedule and not announce events with 10 days notice. I'm world no.23 currently and I almost beat the world no.1 Akane in All England. One loss at India open and BAI tries to pull me down. Shocking." Nehwal said. 

Before withdrawing from the Korean Open, Saina, a London Olympics bronze medalist, competed in the German Open (March 8-13), All England Championships (March 16-20), and Swiss Open (March 22-27).   Saina has been battling injuries and poor form for the previous few years, dropping to 23rd in the world rankings, but she showed indications of regaining her form when she played a three-game match against Akane Yamaguchi at this year's All England Championships.