Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram and Subhankar Dey must remain in isolation in Germany till November 10 after which they can return home.
“The health authorities got in touch with us today finally and said that irrespective of the test, rules mandate us to serve out the quarantine period,” said Dey on Friday. “We are also in touch with the Indian consulate in Frankfurt who told us that we have to follow the instructions of the local health authorities.”
The two were forced to pull out of the SaarLorLux Open in Saarbrucken and go into quarantine late on Wednesday after coming in contact with DK Sen, teammate Lakshya’s father-cum-coach who tested positive for Covid-19. Lakshya too pulled out of the $90,000 event earlier on Wednesday once his father’s result was out.
Having tested negative prior to meeting DK Sen, Jayaram and Dey were trying to get retested to expedite their return before Germany imposes a month-long lockdown on November 2.
While Jayaram, Dey, Lakshya and his physiotherapist Abhishek Wagh will have to be in quarantine till November 10, DK Sen’s confinement period is till November 6. He will be released 48 hours earlier if he shows no symptoms.
Dey and Jayaram were at ease after Sports Authority of India (SAI) announced it would meet their expenses during the quarantine period. “SAI said the funds would reach us on Monday,” said Jayaram. The Badminton World Federation will help the players, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) said in a tweet on Friday. BAI has been in contact with the players since Thursday, the tweet said.
While Jayaram and Dey are in confinement together, the Sens are in a different hotel. “I am doing well. There are no symptoms. We want to return at the earliest,” said DK Sen.
It was mandatory for players and coaching staff at the Super 100 event to get tested 48 hours before arrival, or immediately on reaching. Jayaram and Dey tested negative on the night of October 23 and flew out of Vienna, their training base, on October 25. Lakshya, his father and Wagh didn’t take the test in Denmark—where they were training—or immediately on reaching Germany.
They were tested only after DK Sen was told it was mandatory at Tuesday’s manager’s meeting. Reports stating he was positive while Lakshya and Wagh were negative reached them on Tuesday night.