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What's the story?
Upcoming Indian female shuttler, Aakarshi Kashyap has opined that the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2020 could have given her a lot of exposure as the top shuttlers from Asia are competing against each other in the competition.
The background
Since PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal decided to skip the multinational event, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) named a second-string women's squad for the tournament in Manila.
However, a few days prior to the event, the board pulled out of the women's event because of the rising threats of Corona Virus. The men's team, on the other hand, are currently participating in the Asian tournament.
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The heart of the matter
Talking to TOI on Thursday (13th February), Kashyap revealed the exact reason behind the withdrawal of the Indian women's team.
"We were going there to compete in the women's team event but squad members feared contracting the dreaded Corona Virus while playing in Manila. There were 4-5 people in the team who felt that women have low immunity levels than men and it may affect our health, that's why we didn't go. I was ready to go but since it was a team decision, I had to abide by it."
She added how it would have provided great exposure to her and the other female shuttlers of the country since they would have a got a chance to play against the players from China, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea.
As per Kashyap, they would have learnt a lot by looking at their training process and practice schedule. Hence, she believes that this was a massive opportunity missed.
What's next?
The Indian men's team have secured a berth in the semi-finals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships. It will be intriguing to see if they can overcome a challenge from Indonesia. As far as Kashyap's future is concerned, she will look to improve her world ranking with some good performances in the upcoming badminton tournaments.
