Parupalli Kashyap asks for rest, but gets air-tickets for South Asian Games instead

New Delhi: His repeated requests for rehabilitation ignored, Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Parupalli Kashyap has been left flummoxed after being sent air tickets to join the Indian badminton squad at the South Asian Games despite being laid low by an abdominal strain.

Parupalli Kashyap

Once the World No 8, Kashyap has been dogged by injuries and his ranking slipped to 14 in the latest chart. With 12 weeks left to earn a berth for the Rio Olympics, the Indian shuttler is racing against time to even be fit for competing in the tournaments crucial to fetch qualifying points. Kashyap had already written a letter to Badminton Association of India (BAI) and the Ministry, requesting that he be allowed to skip the the South Asian Games.

"I lost out a lot of time because of the injury. I missed out on as many as seven tournaments. I managed to play at PBL and Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold but again I had an abdominal strain in Lucknow and I had to withdraw from Thailand Masters," he said.

"But now BAI and the Government want me to play at the South Asian Games. I am in no position to play. I can't play. I have sent letters to BAI, and the ministry explaining my situation. I also spoke to DG, SAI Injeti Srinivas but still I haven't got any positive response. On the contrary, I got the tickets for Guwahati today. I am feeling very frustrated," said Kashyap.