The rebel trio of Chetan Anand, Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien have agreed to join the ongoing camp on condition that the Badminton Association of India will not hold back their entries for future tournaments abroad.
Miffed after the BAI questioned their "commitment", the shuttlers said they never had any problem in joining the national camp in Hyderabad but all they needed was an assurance from the BAI that in future, their entries would be sent for tournaments abroad.
"We have never been against attending camps. All we want is an assurance that BAI will send our entries for international events in the future," national champion Chetan Anand said.
"Past 10 years, I have attended every camp but yes, I am against attending the lengthy Elite camps meant for the Commonwealth Games 2010. Our immediate goal is to qualify for the 2008 Olympics and if they do not allow us to play abroad, how can we do that?" he asked.
"We have never skipped any national camps. The whole issue that we are indisciplined has been wrongly projected," he said.
He also revealed that the players had requested BAI to allow them play the next two Super Series events after which they would join the camp.
"I requested them to allow us to play in the two events because our rankings will suffer in the Olympic qualification year and then I am ready to attend this camp."
Apart from Anand, who at 30 is the top Indian shuttler in the singles world rankings, the doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien are also at the receiving end of the BAI's ire.
With BAI insisting that the trio would be dropped from the Sudirman Cup team if they did not attend the trial which concludes on Tuesday, the stage has reached where India will have to field an under-strength team for the prestigious world team event.
In such a case, the Indian team will be without its top-ranked singles player and the most potent women's double combination with a world ranking of 25.
"I am the national champion and country's top ranked player. I should be the automatic first choice in the team. I have always taken pride for playing in the country and have won important matches for my country in Thomas Cup and Commonwealth Games. How can they question my commitment?" said Anand.
He also said that BAI's point that he withdrew from the Asian Badminton Championship has not been put in true light.
"I wanted to take a break after the European tour and skip the Asian championship to play Super Series events because it's an Olympic ranking tournament.
"But when I learnt that they are not sending me for the Singapore and Indonesian Open, I asked them to include me in the Asian Championship team but they said they had already withdrawn my name without informing me," he said.
Shruti, meanwhile, put forward a simple question to BAI.
"Last year Jwala and I have been paying from our own pockets to play in international events. We managed to climb form 153 to 25 in the rankings. Where was BAI that time? And now how can they stop us from playing?" she asked.
"They should appreciate us for what we have achieved; instead, they want our rankings to suffer so that we have to start from the scratch," Kurien said.
"Badminton is an individual sport and we have every right to make our own decision. We need individual attention. We know how to keep ourselves fit."
Shruti said she had lost confidence in BAI and remarked, "BAI is saying that we are illogical, which is totally wrong. We do not have the confidence that even if we join the camp, they will let us play.
"Me and Jwala, we have attended every camp, right from the beginning of our career. We have never said no. But this time we need an assurance," she said.
Jwala asked if BAI was so worried about the players' fitness then why did it send them to the Asian Championship immediately after the European Tour.
"They have given exemption to Anup Sridhar for injury and other players for exams from joining the camps. In the same period, they could have allowed us to play.
"It's not a issue of joining camps or playing in tournaments. It's an issue concerning the right of the player. They did not give us any explanation for stopping our entries. They said it's a committee decision," she said.
