Injured shuttler sent air tickets by association
New Delhi, Feb 2: His repeated requests for rehabilitation ignored, CWG gold medallist P Kashyap was left flummoxed Tuesday after being sent air tickets to join the Indian badminton squad at the SAG. The shuttler is currently undergoing treatment for suffering an abdominal strain suffered during the recently-concluded Syed Modi Open event in Lucknow. Once the world No.8, Kashyap has been dogged by injuries and his ranking slipped to 14 in the latest chart. With 12 weeks left to earn a berth for the Rio Olympics, the Indian shuttler is racing against time to even be fit for competing in the tournaments crucial to fetch qualifying points.
Kashyap had already written a letter to Badminton Association of India (BAI) and the central sports ministry, requesting that he be allowed to skip the SAG.
“I lost out a lot of time because of the injury. I missed out on seven tournaments. I managed to play at the PBL and Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold tournaments. But again I had an abdominal strain and I had to withdraw from Thailand Masters as well,” Kashyap stated.
“But now BAI and the government want me to play at the South Asian Games. I am in no position to play. I have sent letters to BAI, and the ministry explaining my situation. I also spoke to DG, SAI Injeti Srinivas but still I haven’t got any positive response. On the contrary, I got the plane tickets for Guwahati today (Tuesday). I am feeling very frustrated,” the disturbed shuttler added.
The 29-year-old stated that his case should have been treated differently because of his injury. “I am injured. Why are people failing to realise that,” Kashyap said. “I have only 12 weeks left to qualify for the Olympics. Out of which I can play for seven weeks and train for five. That in itself is a huge task. On top of it, to expect me to play at the SA Games is too much.”
The shuttler also stated that he has a Herculean task to attain. “The Olympic qualifications will be decided by May. So I need to do extremely well in the European circuit for which I need to work very hard,” pointed out Kashyap. “I have to do well in four European tournaments and then three in Asia if I am to qualify for the Olympics. So at the moment, I can’t risk aggravating my injury,” he added. PTI
