Why is Saina Nehwal not playing at the Tokyo Olympics?

Saina Nehwal won't be playing at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. She was the first female superstar of Indian badminton who won the bronze medal at the Olympics in 2012. However, with each passing day, in the last couple of years, the former World No. 1 seemed to be languishing out of form enduring a torrid run in the international circuit.

She began her Race to Tokyo campaign with the New Zealand Open in 2019 making an exit in the opening round. A series of similar first-round exits further depleted her chances to qualify. Her best performance since then has been the semifinal finish at the recently concluded Orleans Masters. Saina played a total of 17 tournaments during the Tokyo Olympics qualification cycle which started in April 2019 and earned a total of 57367.4134 points. Considering the 10 best results that contribute to Race to Tokyo Rankings she has 43037 points. The 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist played a total of 28 matches during this time and won just 11 of those with a poor 39.2% win percentage.

Saina Nehwal's hope of qualifying was dashed after the final Olympic qualifier in Singapore was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The governing body Badminton World Federation (BWF) issued a statement that "The Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm no further tournaments will be played inside the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifying window," the apex body said in a statement on Friday. "As such, while the qualification period officially closes 15 June 2021 as per the Revised Tokyo 2020 Qualification System, the current Race To Tokyo rankings list will not change." Owing to the health crisis, the world body had earlier revised the qualification period, extending it by nearly two months to June 15 after the postponement of three important events.

Indian shuttlers who have already made the cut for the Olympics include PV Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth and the men's doubles pairing of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.