Badminton Association of India ready to kick-start domestic season with strict COVID-19 guidelines

By ANI

NEW DELHI: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) in a recent communication has informed the state associations to get their players and officials vaccinated at the earliest as it has decided to roll out the remainder of the domestic season 2021-22 soon with strict COVID-19 guidelines in place.

According to the newly-announced guidelines by BAI, players above the age of 18, coaches, technical officials, organising team, and staff will have to complete both doses of vaccines and are required to carry a vaccination certificate with a valid barcode.

However, for the shuttlers below 18 years, it’s made mandatory to carry a negative RT PCR report with a barcode, 96 hours prior to the departure station. The season will be kickstarted with the Senior Ranking Tournaments followed by events of the other age categories.

“Domestic season has been off for more than a year now. We have been trying to start it but the situation did not permit us to proceed. But now we want to ensure that when the tournaments begin, we start with full participation at the same time all safety protocols are in place and hence it is important to encourage vaccinations. The purpose of this intimation is to apprise everyone, all the state association players and stakeholders to get vaccinations done immediately,” BAI General Secretary Ajay Singhania said in an official release.

BAI had decided to resume domestic badminton action in the country with Senior Ranking Tournaments in April earlier this year with revamped structure and revised prize money worth INR 2.2 crore for its domestic season.

But, with the second wave of the COVID-19 in the country, the tournaments had to be postponed. However, this announcement will come up as the breath of fresh air for all the shuttlers and badminton enthusiasts in the country.