New Delhi, Jun 29 :The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Tuesday said it has asked its state associations to get their players and officials vaccinated at the earliest for the resumption of the domestic season 2021-22 under strict COVID-19 guidelines.

According to the newly-announced guidelines by BAI, players above the age of 18, coaches, technical officials, organising team, and staff will have to complete both doses of vaccines and are required to carry their vaccination certificate with a valid barcode.

For the shuttlers below 18 years of age, it will be made mandatory to carry a negative RT-PCR report with a barcode, 96 hours prior to departure from their respective stations.

The season will be kickstarted with the Senior Ranking Tournaments followed by events of the other age categories.

‘Domestic season has been off for more than a year now. We have been trying to start it but the situation did not permit us to proceed. But now we want to ensure that when the tournaments begin, we start with full participation at the same time all safety protocols are in place and hence it is important to encourage vaccinations,’ BAI General Secretary Ajay Singhania said in a release.

‘The purpose of this intimation is to apprise everyone, all the state association players and stakeholders to get vaccinations done immediately,’ he added.

BAI had decided to resume domestic badminton action in the country with Senior Ranking Tournaments in April earlier this year with revamp structure and revised prize money worth Rs 2.2 crore.

But, with the second wave of the coronavirus sweeping the country, the tournaments had to be postponed.(UNI)