Indian badminton star Ajay Jayaram may miss the Denmark Open BWF Super-750 tournament after he was not allowed to board the British Airways flight on Friday morning from Bengaluru to Denmark, despite carrying the same Type C Schengen Visa, as well as Covid-19 negative certificate like the rest of the players.
Kidambi Srikanth, Subhankar Dey and Lakshya Sen, the other three shuttlers taking part, have left for Denmark on an Air France fight from Delhi the night before.
Jayaram took to social media to say that he was unaware of the quarantine rules for London, his transit stop, and the rules regarding 'air bubble'.
"I am not aware of the rules. So, I went to airport and was refused to be allowed. There were some rules like the 'air bubble' type. The ticket also is refundable," Jayaram told TOI.
"I am trying to contact Air France. I have a valid type C visa with Covid negative certificate and invitation letter from organisers stating my cause. So far I did not get any response. I am hoping for the best," Jayaram added.
Jayaram even tagged the twitter accounts for Badminton World Federation (BWF), Badminton Association of India (BAI), British Airways, Air France, Bengaluru airport, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I have tweeted and waiting for their response. But no help came from their side so far. The other shuttlers travelled via Delhi and if possible I may do the same," Jayaram said.
I wasnt allowed to board @British_Airways flight this morning. The rest of the Indian team has flown out with @airfrance last night from delhi having the same type c schengen visa as me. Kindly help @AirFranceIN
— Ajay Jayaram (@ajay_289) October 9, 2020
Jayaram will need to find a flight before Sunday with the Denmark Open starting on October 13 in Odense.