BAI secretary meets sports minister to discuss shuttlers’ Olympic preparations

NEW DELHI, Jun 14: Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary general Ajay Singhania on Monday called on sports minister Kiren Rijiju to apprise him of the preparation of Indian shuttlers for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

“On BAI President @himantabiswa’s advice, GS Ajay Singhania today met Hon’ble Sports Minister @KirenRijiju &updated him about the status & immediate needs of Tokyobound #badminton players. The Minister is upbeat about preparation &wished shuttlers to bring laurels for the nation,” BAI tweeted.

World champion and Rio Olympics silver-medallist P V Sindhu, World Championship bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth and world no.10 men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have qualified for the Tokyo Games.

The BAI had recently written to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to allow four coaches, including chief coach Pullela Gopichand, and two physios to travel with the four shuttlers to Tokyo.

The Sports ministry had decided against sending its delegation to Tokyo Olympics to accommodate “maximum” support staff, including coaches and physios, for the athletes competing in the Summer Games. (PTI)