Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal set to return to action in Bangkok following pandemic hiatus

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PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have been named in the eight-member squad by Badminton Association of India (BAI) to participate in the upcoming three tournaments set for January.

PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal to begin their campaign in January

The Indian ace shuttlers, Sindhu and Nehwal are set to return to the court after the pandemic forced break.

PV Sindhu

They are a part of the eight-member squad that will participate in three tournaments in Bangkok including the high-profile BWF World Tour Finals.

Sindhu last participated at the All England Championships in March while Nehwal who was scheduled to take part in Denmark Open pulled herself out of the tournament amid COVID concerns.

ALSO READ: Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap drop out of the upcoming Denmark Open

On Monday, BAI made the announcement of the squad keeping the upcoming Olympics in mind. The squad comprises of Sindhu, Saina, B Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Ashwini Ponappa and N Sikki Reddy.

They will begin their campaign with Yonex Thailand Open from January 12-17.

That will be followed by Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) and the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals which is rescheduled for January 27-31.

The COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted the world of badminton in March and several tournaments were either cancelled or postponed. Previously, Srikanth had made his return to the court in the Denmark Open and now the other Indian shuttlers are set to return.

We are very happy to see badminton finally getting back on the court: BAI

Ajay Singhania, BAI general secretary said:

“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.”

The team will also see singles foreign coaches Agus Dwi Santoso and Park Tae Sang and doubles coach Dwi Kristiawan alongside support staff of Kiran Challagundla, Johnson, Evangelina Baddam and M Srikanth.

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