Trupti might get a Malaysia berth

Although the Badminton Association of India is yet to officially announce the teams for the European circuit 8212; which comprises the German Open...

Although the Badminton Association of India BAI is yet to officially announce the teams for the European circuit 8212; which comprises the German Open, the All-England Open and the Swiss Open 8212; and the Senior ABC Championship, India8217;s No 2 shuttler Trupti Murgunde has been dropped for the three events in Europe, but will be travelling to Malaysia for the April 10-15 ABC event. The European circuit kicks off from February 27.

Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said the selectors had made the right move by dropping the out-of-form Trupti for the European circuit but added that she will be on the flight to Malaysia. 8220;It8217;s a question of whether you want to protect a player8217;s ranking or a player8217;s game,8221; Gopichand said when asked why the country8217;s second-best shuttler did not feature in the Europe-bound squad.

The former All-England champion added: 8220;I think you need to protect the latter and I support the selectors who felt Trupti should train harder considering her performance in the nationals. Trupti lost in straight games in the semis to Aditi Mutatkar. Trupti may be the No 2 player in terms of rankings, but performance-wise it8217;s Aditi who8217;s next to Saina Nehwal at the moment. Having said that, Trupti will be playing the ABC meet in Malaysia.8221;

Trupti, however, said the reason given to her by the Federation was that she did not make herself available for the camp that was initially supposed to get underway today, but since many shuttlers are playing in Dehradun it will now start only on February 7 at Hyderabad.

Interestingly, Trupti seemed surprised when told about the camp being deferred by two days. 8220;I didn8217;t know about it. Anyway there8217;s no point joining the camp with the National Games around. It8217;ll be like reaching Hyderabad and leaving immediately for Guwahati,8221; she said.

Asked if she agreed with the selectors that she needs to train back home, Trupti said: 8220;I8217;ve been suffering from a tooth problem for the last 2-3 months which has been affecting my game on and off. That was the case during the nationals as well and I informed the coach about it after the tournament got over. In fact I didn8217;t even expect to make the semis. I will have to undergo a minor surgery in the next few days and only after that will I be able to plan my schedule. As of now I8217;m not even sure of playing the National Games.8221;