New Delhi, March 9: For players like Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, the opportunities for qualifying for this year’s Olympic Games are fast shrinking as they have about five tournaments to book their tickets for Tokyo.
The recently-concluded Swiss Open was the first tournament of the year to be part of the Olympic qualification cycle and reigning badminton world champion P.V. Sindhu was the only Indian who managed to reach the final.
A nation can enter a maximum of two players for each event in singles if they are ranked in the top 16 of the ‘Race to Tokyo’ rankings and Sindhu is already seventh, while Saina is currently 19th. She may be able to rise three spots to 16th and thus stand a chance at qualifying but then she also has to maintain that position.
Former men’s singles world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth seems to have left behind his wretched run of form that held him back for much of the last two years. Srikanth reached the semi-finals of the Swiss Open before losing to world No. 1 and eventual champion Viktor Axelsen. Srikanth is currently 13th on the world rankings while Sai Praneeth, who won bronze at the 2019 World Championships, re-entered the top 16 after his quarter-final finish in Basel.
Owing to Covid-19 pandemic, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and its member associations have struggled to hold tournaments which means that there is little to no certainty on whether tournaments will be held as per schedule or not. (IANS)
