Doctor attended Srikanth 'shortly' after reporting nosebleed: BWF

Bangkok [Thailand], January 13 (ANI): The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday said that a doctor from the COVID-19 testing team attended the Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth "shortly" after the team member reported that Kidambi had a nosebleed following a coronavirus test.
"On Tuesday, the player indicated he suffered a nose bleed following a mandatory PCR test. A doctor from the COVID-19 testing team located at the hotel attended to Kidambi shortly after," the BWF said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Srikanth shared pictures from his bleeding nose, following the "unacceptable" treatment being meted out to the player while conducting coronavirus tests.
"We take care of ourselves for the match not to come and shed blood for THIS. However, I gave 4 tests after I have arrived and I cannot say any of them have been pleasant. Unacceptable," Srikanth tweeted while sharing pictures.
The Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT) also issued a statement in this regard and said during the latest COVID-19 test done on Tuesday the position of the stick in the nasal passage was misaligned which caused bleeding to Srikanth.
"The athlete had been swabbed three times earlier with the most recent one possibly causing irritation and fragility of the capillaries. Therefore, when the swab was repeated on Tuesday, and factoring in the athlete's tense nature, the position of the stick in the nasal passage was misaligned, which caused the slight bleeding noticed from the tip of the swab," the statement read.
"The COVID-19 staff member did not notice any bleeding from the athlete's nose and there was no complaint from Kidambi at that point. After about three to five minutes, another athlete from the India team reported that Kidambi had a nosebleed.
"It is not known whether the athlete had blown his nose or stuck tissue up his nostrils which could have caused more blood vessels to rupture," it added.
Later in the day, Srikanth will take on his Indian teammate Sourabh Verma in the first round clash of the Thailand Open.
"Badminton Association of Thailand, Thonburi Healthcare Group and the Ministry of Public Health have a strict COVID-19 prevention policy to do the nasal passage swab as often as every three to four days for early detection to reassure the athletes and their entourage to stay COVID-19 free throughout the tournament," the BAT said.
On Sunday, Olympic gold medalist Carolina Marin had expressed her displeasure with the food being given to the athletes.
"We need better food to be ready to play. It's a difficult situation for all and we are grateful to be able to play tournaments, but we must take care of our body. In my case, because of a health issue, I need a special diet and this is not appropriate food for athletes," Marin had tweeted while sharing pictures of the food. (ANI)