Defending champion Lakshya and two other India players, World No. 13 Ajay Jayaram and 2018 winner Subhankar Dey were forced to pull out of the tournament and kept in isolation in Germany as they had been in contact with Sen
Shuttler Lakshya Sen (left) with father DK in Bangalore on Tuesday
India shuttler Lakshya Sen's father and coach DK Sen has urged the country's badminton players, coaches and support staff to learn to adapt to the new normal after his recent ordeal in Germany, having tested positive for COVID-19 at the SaarLorLux Open in Saarbrucken on October 27.
Defending champion Lakshya and two other India players, World No. 13 Ajay Jayaram and 2018 winner Subhankar Dey were forced to pull out of the tournament and kept in isolation in Germany as they had been in contact with Sen. "We reached our Bangalore home this morning, around 5am. We are fine and healthy, but testing positive for COVID-19 despite taking all the precautionary measures was a shocker.
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'False positive test'
"I feel my test was false positive as I didn't even have a single symptom. Besides, it's strange that though I was sharing food and beverages with my son, he didn't show any trace of the virus. I would like to tell everyone not to get scared [of the virus] and learn to live in the new normal so that tournaments can be conducted at all levels. This is the need of the hour," Sen told mid-day on his arrival in the country on Tuesday. He also felt that the Badminton World Federation (BWF) should formulate similar rules for all tournaments being held during COVID-19.
Different regulations
"At Odense [Denmark Open], the COVID-19 tests were conducted by the organisers when we reached our hotel rooms. But that was not the case in Germany. If BWF can formulate uniformity in the way they function as far as testing is concerned, such incidents can be minimised," said Sen, who tested negative on November 1, following which they were permitted to travel back to the country.
Experience in Germany was scary: Lakshya
India badminton player Lakshya Sen, who had to withdraw from SaarLorLux Open (October 27-November 10) after his father-cum-coach DK Sen tested positive, wants to forget the Germany experience and travel to his hometown of Almora, Uttarakhand for Diwali before he begins training for the Asia leg (January 12-17 Yonex Thailand Open and Toyota Thailand Open to be held from January 19 to 24 in Bangkok) of competitions next year.
"After dad tested positive, we were confined to our hotel rooms. It was a very scary experience. The first thought that came to my mind was about the health of all those who came in contact with him. Right now, I am just waiting for my mandatory home quarantine to get over. I will then go to Almora [my hometown] for Diwali," Lakshya told mid-day on Tuesday.
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