Saina was taken in her on-court attire to hospital, was very upset: Parupalli Kashyap

A screengrab of a video posted by Saina Nehwal getting tested

India shuttler Parupalli Kashyap has revealed that fellow shuttler and wife Saina Nehwal was very upset on Tuesday when she was taken to the hospital in court attire just a minute before her match at Thailand Open after being told that she had tested COVID-19 positive.

Interestingly, a few hours later, Nehwal and HS Prannoy tested negative, paving the way for their participation in the tournament once again. Both, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Badminton Association of India (BAI) confirmed the development.

"I was more worried for her [Saina] because she was told like a minute before her match and straightaway, in her on-court attire, taken to the hospital. She was so upset . I was obviously confused whether I could play or not and that got confirmed in a while when I was told that I cannot leave my room. Prannoy is a close friend, so I was constantly in touch with him and asked him to take care of Saina as well," Kashyap told mid-day.

Parupalli Kashyap

Kashyap said they were all confused when the results came out positive. "Frankly, we were confused the whole time and wondering how a positive result showed up despite having antibodies since we went through the COVID-19 strain around four weeks ago. And even if it showed up, an antibodies test should be good enough to show that we are not going to spread the virus," said Kashyap.

"Both Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy have been cleared to participate in the ongoing Yonex Thailand Open after the fourth-round tests reports confirmed that both shuttlers have been tested negative for COVID-19," BAI said in a statement.

"BAI have taken up the matter with the topmost BWF officials to ensure if tests were negative, matches for respective players should be rescheduled and no walkover is given," the sport's national governing body added.

With agency inputs