BAI Announces Squad, Saina Nehwal And PV Sindhu To Compete For First Time Since COVID-19 Outbreak

Ahead of the Olympics, the Badminton Association of India(BAI) announced an eight-member squad to participate in the three tournaments that will take place in January 2021, in Bangkok. The BAI on Monday confirmed the return of both the two refined women players PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal.

This will be the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic that shuttlers like PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will participate in an international tournament. The team will consist of Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth, Saina, Kidambi Srikanth, Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, N. Sikki Reddy, and Ashwini Ponappa. The entire team will begin their campaign with the Yonex Thailand Open from January 12-17 which will be followed by Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) and then the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals which is re-scheduled for January 27-31.

What You Should Know

• Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to make a comeback after an overhaul due to the pandemic.
• The comeback will be made through three tournaments in Bangkok.

Also Read: Saina Nehwal Joins Politics, But Why Are We Angry With Her?

The only player from the team to have featured in an international tournament during the COVID-19 pandemic is Srikant. He made a comeback when he played the Denmark Open in October.

The team will be accompanied by singles coaches Agus Dwi Santoso and Park Tae Sang along with doubles coach Dwi Kristiawan. Others to accompany the team as supporting staff are Johnson, Evangelina Baddam, M Srikant, and Kiran Challagundala.

“We are very happy to see badminton finally getting back on the court. It gives us hope that tournaments can eventually make a steady comeback in near future. Most of our players haven’t played tournaments in the last 7-8 months however, they have been training to the best of their abilities at the camp. The purpose of sending a full-strength team in these tournaments so that players can get the much-needed tournament practice ahead of the Olympic qualifiers,” BAI General Secretary Ajay Singhania said.

According to the world badminton rankings, Nehwal is currently on number seven while Sindhu is on number three.

Also Read: Sports Authority Approves PV Sindhu’s Request To Have Physio and Trainer Accompany Her

Sanskriti Tiwari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.