BANGALORE, May 30: A few days after National champion P Gopichand took the sting out of the National Games badminton competition by announcing his unavailability, the other top men's shuttlers -- including Deepankar Bhattacharjee, Rajeev Bagga and Siddharth Jain -- have reportedly decided to follow suit.

On the face of it, it may seem that the pull-outs are injury-related, but the real reasons apparently boil down to two simple facts -- lack of any prize money and the knowledge that their performance here will be of little significance when the Indian team is selected for any international.

While, Gopichand is out of action for a month because of a knee injury sustained during the World Championship in Glasgow, Scotland, Bhattacharjee is ``recovering from calf, ankle and groin injuries''.

Talking to The Indian Express, Bhattacharjee, who is training in the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy here, said, ``I am recovering from a long, 10-month, injury lay-off after the Nationals at Pune.'' He added that he had informed his state (Assam) three weeks ago about his non-availability.

Madhya Pradesh's Siddharth Jain, in the meantime, said he had been out of touch for the past two-and-a-half months as he was busy with his second-year examinations in native Dewas. ``I had sent a telegram to my state that I could not play in the Games.''

It is learnt that Rajeev Bagga (Maharashtra) and Abhin Shyam Gupta (Uttar Pradesh) are also unlikely to take part. Bagga, who was in Germany for the Deaf and Dumb Olympics, has reportedly evinced his disinterest in participating while Gupta, down with a knee problem, is expected to undergo surgery in Mumbai.

On the flip side, the absence of top shuttlers may see others like George Thomas, Markose Bristow (both Kerala), Vijay Raghavan (Andhra Pradesh) and Mayur Tawade and Nikhil Kanetkar (both Maharashtra) finding a place in the draw of 16.

Interestingly, this development seemed to have caught the organisers unawares, even though many of the top shuttlers are trainees at the Prakash Padukone Academy, practicing at the Karnataka State Badminton Association (KSBA) courts. When contacted, an official of the organising committee expressed ignorance about the matter.

The women's event may, however, turn out to be the only saving grace for the organisers, as all the leading players including Aparna Popat, the World junior runner-up, Manjusha Kanwar, Neelima Chaudhary and PVV Laxmi will be seen in action during the Games.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.