Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu has been rested from the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold event while senior pro Saina Nehwal will be vying for top honours in all three upcoming tournaments.
Saina Nehwal has pulled out of the upcoming Sudirman Cup team badminton tournament to be held from May 21 at Gold Coast (Australia). Saina explained that her father recently underwent a surgery and that she would like to be with him while he recovers.
India will be sending full teams for the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold (May 30-June 4), Indonesia Open Super Series (June 12-18) and Australian Open Super Series (June 20-25).
The Thailand Open will feature a host of youngsters keeping in mind the busy international calendar up ahead for the Indian shuttlers.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Friday announced the teams for the next three tournaments after a selection committee meeting was held in Kolkata during last two days.
The Selection committee reached a consensus and declared the names of the players who will travel for the upcoming tournaments starting with Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold (May 30th-June 4th), followed by Indonesia Open Super Series (June 12th – June 18th) and Australian Open Super Series (June 20th – June 25th).
World No 22 Sai Praneeth will lead the Indian challenge in Thailand in the men’s singles along with fit-again Parupalli Kashyap in action.
Kashyap who returned to the international arena last month at the China Masters after a long injury lay-off had a decent outing as he managed to qualify for the pre-quarter-finals.
In the women’s singles, World No. 9 Saina Nehwal will be the cynosure of all Indian hopes. The 2012 Thailand Open winner, Saina will be eager to win her second title here.
The Grand Prix Gold event will also be an ideal platform for the upcoming shuttlers to show their mettle and apart from the experienced names; it will also see a host of young Indian players rubbing shoulders against some of the biggest players of the world.
