Saina, Srikanth Olympic dreams almost over with Singapore Open cancellation
The cancellation of the tournament has completely shattered the Olympic dreams for the two players as they may not get any other chance to qualify.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday announced the cancellation of the Singapore Open 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It also confirmed that the tournament will not be rescheduled at a later date.
“Tournament organizers Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) and Badminton World Federation (BWF) have jointly agreed to cancel the Singapore Open 2021 scheduled for 1 6 June 2021,” said SBA.
“All attempts were made by the organizers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all participants. However, rising COVID-19 cases globally led to complex challenges in managing inbound travel. Thus, in the interests of all players, tournament personnel, and the local community’s health and safety, the event has been canceled,” BWF said in a statement.
The cancellation of the tournament has completely shattered the Olympic dreams for Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal as they may not get any other chance to qualify.
Saina who was the bronze medalist at the London 2012 Olympics had to pull out of the Rio Olympics following a shin injury and the chances are very less that the fans would get to see her in this year’s Olympics as well.
On the other hand, Srikanth who is the quarter-finalist from the Rio 2016 Olympics will also not be able to make a cut for the Olympics.
Both the players were completely dependent on this tournament for their qualifications after the postponement of the Malaysia Open last week.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) had also reached out to BWF, seeking clarity on the qualification scenario for its shuttlers after the Malaysian tournament was postponed.