Thailand Open: PV Sindhu, Sameer Verma out; Satwik Rankireddy scripts twin wins in doubles
Other Sports | Jan 22, 2021, 08:43 PM ISTWith the defeat of Sindhu and Sameer, Indian challenge in singles competition ended in the tournament.
With the defeat of Sindhu and Sameer, Indian challenge in singles competition ended in the tournament.
Sindhu expectedly outclassed Malaysia's world no. 92 Kisona Selvaduray 21-10 21-12 in a lop-sided second-round contest that lasted just 35 minutes.
World champion Sindhu showed great discipline and focus to see off world no.12 Busanan 21-17 21-13 in the women's singles opener.
The Indian players seemed to struggle with their fitness as none of them could cross the second round at the Yonex Thailand Open, the first event of the Asia leg here.
. The ace Indian shuttler recently returned to the court at the Thailand Open but crashed out in the first round.
This was Sindhu's first tournament since the All England Open in March last year after which the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the badminton calendar.
While Olympic silver-medallist Sindhu has been training in London for the last two months and would be keen to quickly find her rhythm, Saina was down with COVID-19 and has recently recovered from the dreaded disease.
The Hyderabad-based shuttler also exuded confidence that "in a couple of years, there will be a lot more players who will represent the country and also get medals for the country."
The Indian team, comprising Olympic hopefuls PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and B Sai Praneeth, have been allotted training timings.
Apart from Denmark Open, SaarLorLux Super 100 was the only other event to be held last year since the BWF was forced to suspend the calender after the completion of the All England Championships in March.
Sindhu and Saina didn't participate in Denmark Open Super 750 and SaarLorLux Super 100 -- the only two events which could be conducted since BWF was forced to suspend the calendar.
Sindhu last competed in March when she participated in the All England Championship, following which all tournaments were either cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Olympic qualifications in mind, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Monday announced a strong eight-member squad to participate in the three upcoming tournaments, scheduled in January.
She last played competitively at the All England Championships in March this year before the Covid-19 pandemic brought sport to a halt.
Sindhu opened up on how she coped up with the Covid-19 induced lockdown, her reaction to the Tokyo Olympics postponement, her preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup, and also her relationship with national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand.
PV Sindhu took the Twitter by storm when she wrote in a post that she is "retiring'. But here's a twist.
Sindhu, who had clinched silver in Rio Olympics in 2016, also highlighted that she had left the country with the consent of her parents and is also in constant touch with them.
Ramana said Sindhu had informed the Badminton Association of India (BAI) regarding her trip to London and had also kept Gopichand in the loop.
The 25-year-old reigning world champion earlier pulled out of the Thomas and Uber Cup Final due to COVID-19 but later decided to participate after BAI's request.
The national camp is scrapped after it became clear that players would not get any relaxation on the mandatory COVID-19 seven-day quarantine period
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