Ajay Jayaram was not allowed to board a flight from Bangalore to Denmark, where he is scheduled to play in the Denmark Open Super Series.
As badminton takes its first nervous steps towards international resumption at the Denmark Open, starting October 13, shuttlers are expected to reach Odense in various stages of preparedness.
Former world no.1 Kidambi Srikanth, young Lakshya Sen, Ajay Jayaram and Subhankar Dey are the only Indians who will compete in the Denmark Open.
The loss of momentum due to the COVID-19 disruption has been frustrating, concedes fast-rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen.
Former world number one Saina and Srikanth will resume their hunt for valuable ranking points to inch closer to their Tokyo Olympics dreams when the USD 750,000 tournament.
The BWF insisted that while the sport has struggled to take off, badminton is keen on pulling off the two Asian circuit events and the World Tour finals by stitching up a tight bubble.
Kidambi Srikanth is part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme and thus will receive support by SAI. He has also sought permission to reach the tournament early.
Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen and Subhankar Dey were among those players who have sent their consent letters and will be participating in the Super 750 event. Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap have also sent their consent letters but will take a final call nearer to the date of the tournament.
With the second Denmark Masters tournament cancelled, the Denmark Open will be a one-venue pitstop, while the Asian leg is still being firmed up with multiple locations under consideration.
The badminton federation released a statement in this regard, stating that it is looking into possible alternative dates to reschedule the event, confirming that can only be held next year.
The spurt of pull outs of top Asian countries Korea and Indonesia from the Thomas Uber Cup scheduled for October in Aarhus, had forced a rethink in the remaining contingents.
Saina Nehwal tweeted her apprehensions following the withdrawal of seven countries from the tournament due to the rising COVID-19 cases across the globe.
Indonesia, who have won the Thomas Cup 13 times and Uber Cup three times, became the fifth team to to pull out from the Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, scheduled from October 3-11.
With Ashwini and Sikki getting to train together - the two were in Bangalore and Hyderabad respectively, India will field a full-strength squad.
With SAI insisting that the 10-day quarantine period is non-negotiable and a September 17 deadline looming, a team for the Thomas and Uber Cup will be picked without selectors watching the players in training.
B Sai Praneeth has pulled out of India’s Thomas Cup team for the October 3-11 tournament at Aarhus and the subsequent Denmark Open, citing lack of adequate fitness.
PV Sindhu will hope to aid India in the Uber Cup, which will be held from October 3 to 11 in Aarhus, Denmark, in progressing through a group that has 14-time winners China, France, and Germany.
The 26 shuttlers will be based at Pullela Gopichand SAI Badminton Academy in Hyderabad from Monday till September 27. The Thomas and Uber Cup is scheduled to take place in Aarhus, Denmark from October 3 to 11.
The players who will be part of the camp are Nehwal, Sai Praneeth, P Kashyap, Srikanth (all singles), women's doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponappa, along with seven coaches, four support staff and three sparring partners.
It is learnt that while the Covid-19 situation was a secondary consideration in Sindhu's pull-out, there were also reservations about a proposed pre-tournament camp at the Pullela Gopichand academy.
The Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, scheduled to be held from October 3 to 11 in Aarhus, Denmark is the first tournament in the revised calender, which was launched by the sport's governing body BWF last week.
In the mammoth tour across two continents in a protected bubble, there will be a two-week transit gap between the Denmark and the Asian swing with possible chartered flight for players.
Kashyap's request to be included in the national badminton camp got fellow player and wife Saina Nehwal into a sticky situation as she was called indisciplined for allegedly saying she won't train without Kashyap.
The Arjuna Award ceremony was one among many occasions he had excitedly lined up for when returning to Hyderabad. But taking a pre-return rapid antibody test at the government hospital in Amalapuram, the young doubles shuttler tested positive for Covid-19.
The India Open, which was originally scheduled in March, was to be held from December 8 to 13 in New Delhi and Syed Modi was slated for November 17 to 22 in Lucknow in the previously revised calendar.