File image of Saina Nehwal
2012 Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal on Wednesday slammed the organisers of the All England badminton championships which was held recently in Birmingham amid the rapid rise on coronavirus concerns, especially in Europe.
Saina expressed that the organisers cared more about the financial side of the tournament than about the health and welfare of the participants. While every major sporting event or league were suspended across the world, from football to NBA to NHL, All England was held earlier this month in the United Kingdom.
"Only thing I can think of is that rather than the players' welfare n feelings, financial reasons were given more importance. Otherwise, there was no other reason for the #AllEnglandOpen2020 to go on last week .. #QuarantineLif," Saina wrote on Twitter.
Her husband, Parupalli Kashyap, replied to Saina's tweet saying, "Exactly .. just can’t understand how it took place and how we all were under pressure to play the event."
Indian shuttlers were also in a state of confusion in the build up to the tournament following Health Ministry's advisory which was released last week. It said, "All incoming travelers, including Indians, arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain & Germany after 15th February 2020 shall be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days".
