Parupalli Kashyap seeks leave, gets flight ticket instead

Top Indian shuttler and 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap was a confused man on Tuesday. His repeated requests to Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) to grant absence from the South Asian Games (SAG) to be held in Guwahati and Shillong from this weekend fell in deaf ears. Instead, BAI sent him an air ticket for Shillong, the venue for badminton from February 6-10.

While Kashyap had just recovered from a calf injury sustained during the French Open Superseries in October 2015 and played in Premier Badminton League (PBL) last month, he said he had suffered an abdominal strain during last week's Syed Modi International Badminton Championships in Lucknow, where he exited in the quarterfinal.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think," an upset Kashyap told dna over phone on Tuesday. "My case is crazy. I did not play for three months (not considering PBL) as I was recovering from calf injury. When I was getting back to fitness, I sustained the abdomen strain. It will take time to get back to complete fitness. The next four weeks are very crucial to give myself a chance to get back to full fitness and, more importantly, win tournaments.

"I am extremely depressed that I got injured and was unable to play in tournaments at a crucial time as this is the Olympic year. I need to be in perfect shape. If something (worse) happens, everything will fall apart. If I play in SAG, I will get injured again," he added.

While the sports ministry wants India's leading athletes to participate in SAG, leading badminton players, especially those injured, are hesitant to hamper their Olympic qualification chances by playing in this five-day team-cum-individual tournament. It also does not carry any Badminton World Federation ranking points.

"Even if I go (to Shillong), I will not be able to play. My abdomen has not recovered yet. Do they want me to just make an appearance at the SAG, show my face and then give a walkover? If I were fit, I would have trained. Playing one week in SAG would not have made a difference," the 29-year-old said.

"After I developed the abdomen muscle pain in Lucknow, I could not smash properly in the quarterfinal. The four weeks in February are very crucial for my recovery and training. There is no time. March-April are packed with tournaments and they are important for qualification for the Olympics. I have not trained at all in recent times. I can't do miracle in eight days (with my fitness)," he added.

Kashyap even spoke with SAI chief Injeti Srinivas about his case. "I understand the sports minister asking for top players to play. But I requested that my case be treated in a special way.

"The DG, SAI (Srinivas) was very kind to me. He heard me out but admitted that my case was not put up strongly. This, despite sending repeated requests (not to field him) to BAI. I have repeatedly asked Gopi sir (Pullela Gopichand) and Mr Akhilesh Dasgupta (BAI president) and when I was hoping for a positive response, they sent me a flight ticket to Shillong. Gopi sir said he could not take any decision," Kashyap said.

The World No. 14 from Hyderabad said he was fully fit when he entered last week's Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold.

"I did not start Syed Modi with any pain. I played a tough second-round match that went for more than hour against Zi Liang Derek Wong of Singapore. I felt happy that I reached the quarterfinal. I was confused after the PBL.

My level of fitness was not that good during PBL (playing for Hyderabad Hunters). The only positive thing for me during PBL was that I did not feel pain, though my body was not strong and I was slow on the court," Kashyap said.

He added that in order to regain complete fitness, he withdrew from the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold that followed PBL and also from the Thailand Masters GPG in Bangkok from February 8-13.

A perplexed Kashyap, nonetheless, is fighting hard to stay positive in the hope of a favourable response so that he can focus on getting fit.

Saina, Sindhu also doubtful
Meanwhile, it is learnt that World No. 2 Saina Nehwal and No. 11 PV Sindhu are also reluctant to play in SAG and have written to that extent to BAI.
Saina has not fully recovered from a foot injury that has kept her out of action since the Dubai Superseries finals in December 2015.
A BAI source said Saina is unlikely to participate in the SAG and would be next seen in action in the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad from February 15-21.