Saina Nehwal decides to skip selection trials for CWG, Asian Games
New Delhi: Saina Nehwal's chances of defending her title at the Commonwealth Games looks bleak as she has decided to skip the selection trials for the upcoming multi-sport events.
She said she does not want to exert her body by taking part in the trials as she had just returned from tournaments in Europe and another big event is coming up. She also questioned the logic of having trials at this
juncture.
The big-ticket events include the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The selection trials are scheduled here from April 15 to 20.
The 32-year-old Saina, a two-time CWG gold medallist and 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist, has informed the Badminton Association of India (BAI) about her decision to skip the trials.
Saina said she had e-mailed BAI in early April informing about her skipping the trials but there was no communication from the association.
"I had written to them immediately after I came to know about the trials. I didn't want my body to go through another tournament at a time when I had just returned from the European leg and just a little over a week remains for the Asian Championships," Saina told PTI.
"It is slightly unsettling but its okay. I will keep fighting for the Olympics, in the other events and I have no issues if someone else is considered to be deserving and good enough to win a medal at Commonwealth Games and Asian games."
The CWG squad will consist of 10 members with equal number of men and women, while the Asian Games and Thomas & Uber Cup contingents will have 20 members each, including 10 men and 10 women.
The BAI has made it clear that players inside the top 15 in the BWF rankings will be picked directly, while the rest will be chosen from the trials which will see participation of shuttlers ranked between 16 to 50 in the latest world rankings, released on March 29.
The national governing body will also be "finalising probables for the senior core group for the 2024 Olympic Games" during the trials.
Saina said players deserved more time to prepare for
the trials.
