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Concerns over the rapid spread of the deadly virus had forced the postponement of the four Olympic qualifying events so far.
Saina Nehwal
Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap feel that the BWF should extend the Olympic qualification period in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak wrecking havoc on the qualifying events for the Tokyo Games. Concerns over the rapid spread of the deadly virus had forced the postponement of the four Olympic qualifying events so far— Lingshui China Masters (February 25 to March 1), Vietnam International Challenge (March 24 to 29) and German Open (March 3 to 8) and Polish Open (March 26 to 29).
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"Qualification period can be extended if the tournaments are getting cancelled cause of #coronavirus," Saina wrote on her twitter handle, tagging the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "It will be unfair for most of the players who are really close to qualifying for Olympics 2020."
Saina, the London Olympic bronze medallist, is currently lying at 22nd in Race to Tokyo list and need a rapid rise in the rankings to qualify for the Games.
Her husband Kashyap, a 2014 Commonwealth Games champion, and former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth are at 24th and 21th spots respectively in Race to Tokyo list.
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