Sindhu and Nehwal set for Thailand events
OLYMPIC silver medallist P V Sindhu has been handed relatively an easy draw, but tough outings await Saina Nehwal as the Indians return to international competition in Thailand, nearly 10 months after the ongoing pandemic halted all tournaments globally.
Sindhu and Saina didn’t participate in the Denmark Open Super 750 and SaarLorLux Super 100 – the only two events which could be conducted before the BWF (Badminton World Federation) was forced to suspend the calender after the completion of the All England Championships in March.
Now all eyes are on the two Super 1000 events – the Yonex Thailand Open (next Tuesday 12 to next Sunday 17) and the Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) as the world’s best players return to action.
World champion Sindhu, seeded sixth, will open against Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt, while Nehwal, who has recently recovered from Covid-19, will face formidable Japanese Nozomi Okuhara, seeded third, in the first round.
In the next tournament, Sindhu, who has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and has been training in London for the last two months, will meet Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the opening round, while London Olympics bronze medallist Nehwal will square off against another Thai star player Ratchanok Inthanon, seeded fourth.
Sindhu has been seeded sixth in both the tournaments, according to the draws announced by the BWF on Tuesday (5).
In the men’s singles, a total of seven Indians, including former world No 1 Kidambi Srikanth, Olympic-bound B Sai Praneeth and Lakshya Sen, will be participating in both the events.
Thailand has been dealing with pro-democracy protest movements and has recently seen a spike in coronavirus cases as well.
However, the BWF said “The Yonex Thailand Open and Toyota Thailand Open, plus the season ending HSBC BWF World Tour Finals will go ahead as planned, with the world’s best badminton players to descend on Bangkok, Thailand.”
Chinese players will, however, miss the two events, the BWF added. “The Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) has confirmed the withdrawal of its team from both tournaments,” the world governing body said in a statement.