“Just waiting to see what BWF says” – Kidambi Srikanth ‘holding on’ to slim hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics

“Just waiting to see what BWF says” – Kidambi Srikanth ‘holding on’ to slim hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics

Kidambi Srikanth

Indian badminton star Kidambi Srikanth‘s hopes of making it to the Tokyo Olympics in July took an almighty hit when it was announced that the Singapore Open which was the final qualifier event was cancelled. The cancellation was the last chance saloon for both Srikanth and women’s badminton ace and Olympic medalist Saina Nehwal. The reason for the cancellation was the COVID-19 pandemic situation around the world.

However, there was some very miniscule hope left for the two as the Badminton World Federation (BWF) stated that another statement would be issued about the qualifying process for the Tokyo Olympics which gets affected due to the cancellation of the event.

Kidambi Srikanth on hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics

Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth
Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth

Kidambi Srikanth spoke to PTI about his hopes of making it to the Olympic Games taking a hit and was quoted by Rediff as saying, “I could have qualified if I had participated in the qualifiers but there is nothing much I can do about it now. Just waiting to see what BWF says about this whole qualification things, so yeah holding on to some hope. I’m not really thinking about what BWF can do, because whatever I think it will naturally be to make my qualification possible. I have taken a break. They are trying to get some permission for training. If we get that then probably from next week I will start training.”

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Meanwhile, other shuttlers who are bound for the Tokyo Olympics like PV Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth and the doubles pairing of Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have decided to take a break.

Sai Praneeth spoke about the cancellation of the Singapore Open and said, “Definitely disappointed that all the three events got cancelled. I have been training for 7 weeks but now just training without purpose makes no sense. I, at least, have Olympics to look forward to and I plan to start training again from next week.”

The Tokyo Olympics begins on the 23rd of July.

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Also Read: Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth’s Olympic hopes over after BWF cancels Singapore Open