SAI to fund lodging, boarding of badminton players quarantined in Germany
October 30, 2020
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has confirmed that it is going to pay for the expenses going to be incurred by two badminton players – Ajay Jayaram and Subhankar Dey – during their quarantine period in Germany from October 30 to November 10. On Thursday, the authority also announced that it will be releasing 90 per cent of the amount immediately.
The decision has been taken on humanitarian grounds and as a result, the SAI will be paying a total of INR 1.46 lakh for the hotel stay and food expenses of both Jayaram and Dey.
While both players had tested COVID negative on arrival in Germany, they had trained with Lakshya whose coach DK Sen’s COVID report had come positive on October 27. As a close contact, they withdrew from the tournament so as to not jeopardise the safety of the other players and hamper the functioning of the tournament.
The SAI is in constant touch with the Indian Consulate in Frankfurt to facilitate the situation involving the two players.
The two players were scheduled to play the SaarLorLux Open in Saarbrucken this week but the duo pulled out as they had been training with Lakshya Sen who had taken exit from the tournament earlier.
