Saina lashes out at BWF over regulations in Thailand

Bangkok, Jan 5 : Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal on Tuesday lashed out at the Badminton World Federation for the regulations that were in place ahead of the upcoming Thailand tournaments. The Thailand Open, which starts on January 12 in Bangkok is set to be the first tournament she plays since the All England Open in March last year.
Saina’s grievances was chiefly about players allegedly not being allowed to interact with their physios and trainers and the reduced practice and gym timings allowed.
“The physios and trainers cannot meet us during the entire tour after all of us have tested negative ? @bwfmedia @bwf_ac 4 weeks of this… how is it possible to maintain ourselves. We want to play the tournament in good condition. Please sort this @bwfmedia,” said Saina in her first tweet.
“Practice only for an hour everyday for the entire team? Gym timings the same… considering March being the important Olympic qualification period this is not good enough to be in good shape @bwfmedia,” she said in her second post.
Saina said that players should have been informed earlier if they are not allowed to interact with their support staff for the duration of their stay in Thailand.
Singles foreign coaches Agus Dwi Santoso and Park Tae Sang and doubles coach Dwi Kristiawan along with support staff consisting of Kiran Challagundla, Johnson, Evangelina Baddam and M. Srikanth have travelled to Bangkok with the players.