CHENNAI: Even after the official tournament draw, there were whispers of concern among Indian shuttlers with regards to participation in the Denmark Open amid the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, former World No 1 Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap confirmed that those concerns were telling after they decided to give the USD 750,000 event a miss.
Safety was one of the factors. Kashyap, who had been drawn against Japan's Koki Watanabe, was one of the players who had recently spoken to this daily about safety and precautionary measures for the event to be held from October 13-18 in Odense.
Going by reports from Japan, World No 1 Kento Momota has also pulled out with most other players from Japan. After much deliberation, Kashyap and Saina thought it would be wise to drop out and
focus on 2021 instead.
"We just thought going all the way for one tournament is not a necessity right now. I have a small niggle (right quadriceps), not a major factor, and I couldn't train for a couple of days. But that is not a big concern and I should be fine in one or two days. Going for one tournament not being 100 per cent did not make sense," Kashyap, the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, told this daily on Tuesday.
With the duo's absence, just four Indians (all men's singles) will now be taking part in the event. As things stand, they are waiting for visa approval and could depart as soon as that is confirmed. Apart from Kashyap's fitness and the pandemic, the other factor that made the duo arrive to this big decision was this is not an Olympic qualifying meet.
Both Saina and Kashyap are walking a tightrope with regards to Tokyo qualification. Due to the pandemic, the Badminton World Federation was unable to complete the last six weeks of the qualifying process and they have decided to extend the qualification period to next year.
Kashyap, who is currently ranked World No 24, has a lot of catching up to do in the next few months. With serious competition at the elite level and recurring injuries, he has had a quiet phase in recent times. But he said he feels better now and is determined to fight on with 2021 in mind.
"My body feels okay. I have progressed well in the last six months. I want to see how I fare in the next
six to eight months. My body is conditioned well and I just want to use that opportunity right now," he said.