Top seeded Sindhu, Srikanth to skip Syed Modi championship
LUCKNOW : Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games runner-up Kidambi Srikanth are set to skip the $150,000 Syed Modi International Badminton Championship starting on Tuesday at the UP Badminton Academy here. They were top seeds.
World No 4 Sindhu, seeking her first title win this year, wants to focus on next month’s BWF World Tour Final in China, and is looking to give herself time to get ready while Srikanth, the world No 8 who lost the Hong Kong Open quarterfinals last week, is struggling with injury.
“Before the Modi tourney, I really want to look at myself,” Srikanth was quoted as saying in Bengaluru on Sunday. “I’m not 100 percent fit, I have a small injury. I just want to talk to my physio and coaches first before I get on court again.”
Sidhu’s father PV Ramana said on Sunday that his daughter’s focus was the World Tour Final.
“Sindhu has written to Badminton Association of India asking them to allow her to skip the Modi tournament so that she can concentrate on the World Tour Finals,” Ramana said. “She has also informed the organisers and national coach P Gopichand.”
Sindhu, the world No 5 who won her first title here last year, won silver at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Asian Games. She also reached the final of the India Open and Thailand Open, and reached the semifinals at All England.
“It’s all about the pride of the country. Winning at the World Tour Final is more important and she wants to give her best there. She needs proper rest as well as training and she requires a good weeks of training to be in good shape,” Ramana added.
The World Tour Final features top eight players. It will be Sindhu’s 18th tournament this year. It will be her third appearance at the year-end event.
World No 8 Srikanth, who couldn’t win even a single event out of 17 this season, has reportedly been suffering from injury, has been given top billing in the men’s singles, whereas Sindhu is top seeded in the women’s section. “Withdrawal of players is not in our hands so we can’t do anything now,” UP Badminton Association secretary Arun Kakkar said. “The tournament could have been better had players like Sindhu and Srikanth been here,” he added.