Hyderabad: Soon after Lakshya Sen withdrew from the SaarLorLux Open as his father-cum-coach DK Sen tested positive for COVID-19, the entire Indian squad have withdrawn from the event. Ajay Jayaram and Subhankar Dey were scheduled to play the second of men’s singles on Wednesday (October 28), however, they too pulled out later.
BWF in a statement said, “The three players: Lakshya Sen, Ajay Jayaram and Subhankar Dey will not compete further in the SaarLorLux Open 2020, which began on Tuesday 27th October 2020, and all three players and the team entourage have been placed into isolation, in line with directives from the local health authorities and BWF tournament health protocols.”
“All three players have tested negative for Covid-19 following the testing requirements for the tournament and are said to be in good health overall,” the statement added. Jayram defeated Belgium’s Maxime Moreels 21-8, 21-8 in just 19 minutes and was to face Dutch third seed Mark Caljouw in the second round. Subhankar had to face Canadian Brian Yang in the second round.
“There’s nothing to worry. I am fine and well and praying to god for a speedy recovery,” DK Sen told The Indian Express. “We are in different rooms – Lakshya with his physio Abhishek (Wagh) and me separately. I have no symptoms and will follow every local protocol. We’ll take a second test soon to check when we can return,” he assured.
