New Delhi: Saina Nehwal’s chances of defending her title at the Commonwealth Games looks bleak as she has decided to skip the selection trials for the upcoming multi-sport events.

The big-ticket events include the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The selection trials are scheduled here from April 15 to 20. The 32-year-old Hisar-born shuttler, a two-time CWG gold medallist and 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist, has informed the Badminton Association of India (BAI) about her decision to skip the trials.

“Saina has written to BAI, informing her decision to not play in the trials which will be the only tournament to pick players for CWG, Asiad and Thomas and Uber Cup,”.

The CWG squad will consist of 10 members with equal number of men and women, while the Asian Games and Thomas & Uber Cup contingents will have 20 members each, including 10 men and 10 women.

The BAI has made it clear that players inside the top 15 in the BWF rankings will be picked directly, while the rest will be chosen from the trials which will see participation of shuttlers ranked between 16 to 50 in the latest world rankings, released on March 29.

The national governing body will also be “finalising probables for the senior core group for the 2024 Olympic Games” during the trials.