BAI names strong squad of Olympic-bound shuttlers for Asian Leg
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The Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced a strong squad of eight players to compete in the three tournaments in the Asian leg including the Thailand Open which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand. This decision has been made keeping in mind qualification for the Tokyo Olympics which will be held in July after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic from the initial start date in 2020.
The players will begin their campaign with the Thailand Open Super 1000 starting January 12th, followed by a second tournament January 19 to 24th and the BWF World Tour Finals of 2020 which has been rescheduled to January 27 to 31st, 2021.
PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal to play for the first time since COVID-19 break
The full strength squad that has been named by the BAI consists of players like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal (Women’s singles), B Sai Praneeth, K Srikanth (Men’s Singles), Ashwini Ponnappa, Sikki Reddy (Women’s Doubles), Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty (Men’s Doubles).
“We are very happy to see badminton finally getting back on the court. It gives us hope that badminton tournaments can eventually make a steady comeback in the near future,” BAI General Secretary Ajay Singhania Said in an official statement.
“Most of our players have not 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 (is to ensure) so that players can the much-needed tournament practice ahead of the Olympic qualifiers,” he added.
The contingent will be accompanied by coaches Agus Dwi Santoso and Park Tae Sang for singles and Dwi Kristiawan for doubles. Support staff Kiran C Jonnson, Evangelina Baddam and M Srikanth will also be travelling to Thailand.
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Medha Kattige
(117 Articles Published)