CHENNAI: A day after ace shuttler Saina Nehwal voiced her displeasure over restricted training in Bangkok, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced that all 824 Asian Leg participants in the green zone quarantine bubble have tested negative for Covid-19.
This development means that now Saina and the rest of the shuttlers are cleared for training with safety protocols in place.
"Players are now cleared for training under strict safety protocols. The quarantine measures will be in place throughout the mandatory 14-day observation period including during the staging of the Thailand Open," the BWF said in a release.
The shuttlers can now train but only during the time-slots allotted to each team. For instance, the Indian team comprising of Saina, PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, to name a few, had a gym session (one hour) on Wednesday afternoon and a practice session (one hour, 15 minutes) later in the evening.
"Training was good. The physios are allowed to go to rooms and treat. The organisers are taking extra care in every aspect," doubles specialist B Sumeeth Reddy, told The New Indian Express.
Besides players, the green zone participants also consist of their support staff members of players, and all stakeholders who come into direct contact with them, such as umpires, line judges, personnel from BWF, Badminton Association of Thailand, medical staff, and TV production crew.
As part of safety measure, every participant had been required to submit a covid negative certificate on arrival. Then they were subjected to Covid-19 tests, the results of which came all clear, before entering hotel quarantine.
The Asia leg in Bangkok consists of Yonex Thailand Open (January 12-17) and Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) followed by the BWF World Tour Finals (January 27-31). As per Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT), it was made mandatory for all the participants to stay in the room at all times during quarantine period.
"This restriction will only be lifted after the quarantine period ends. Practice starts Jan 6," the BAT had stated in the tournament prospectus.
First hurdle cleared, the participants will undergo series of Covid tests in the coming weeks.