Four badminton players test positive for Covid-19 at Thailand Open
Issued on:
12/01/2021 - 09:26 2 min
Bangkok (AFP)
Former badminton world number one Saina Nehwal was among four international players who tested positive for Covid-19 at the Thailand Open Tuesday, as sporting officials rushed to contain a potential outbreak in the tournament s so-called bubble.
The Badminton World Federation said the four positive tests had been re-examined, and Nehwal was receiving medical treatment at a Bangkok hospital.
The Olympic bronze medallist s husband, men s singles competitor Parupalli Kashyap, has gone into hotel isolation.
Nehwal tweeted Tuesday that she was told to go to hospital by officials just before the warm-up for her scheduled match a day earlier.
Thailand Open: PV Sindhu Crashes Out In First Round, Ashwini-Satwik Advance To Second
Updated On January 12, 2021
World champion shuttler PV Sindhu, who returned to competitive action after a long gap, suffered a shocking defeat in the first round itself. She lost 21-16, 24-26, 13-21 to Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt in the opening round of YONEX Thailand Open Super 1000 event on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the team of Ashwini Ponnappa-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy has advanced to the second round of mixed doubles with a 21-11, 27-29, 21-16 win. They beat the Indonesian pair of Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.
Sindhu, who last played competitively at the All England Championships in March last year, is currently ranked seventh in the world. She was defeated by Blichfeldt, who is ranked 18th. With this loss, India’s campaign in women’s singles ended as the other players Saina Nehwal and H.S. Prannoy also pulled out after testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Indian team to start training, get access to physio after all 824 participants clear COVID-19 test
NEW DELHI, Jan 6: The entire Indian badminton contingent cleared the COVID-19 test on Wednesday and is set to begin training ahead of the Yonex Thailand Open, starting next week.
The Indian team, part of the Green Zone, consisting of players and all stakeholders such as umpires, line judges, personnel from BWF, Badminton Association of Thailand, medical staff, and TV production crew, were tested after arrival in Bangkok.
The Asia leg in Bangkok consists of two Super 1000 events Yonex Thailand Open (January 12-17) and Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) followed by the USD 1,500,000 HSBC BWF World Tour Finals (January 27-31).
Kento Momota tests positive for COVID-19, Japan pulls out of Thailand events
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images
World number one Kento Momota s long-awaited return to the international circuit has been delayed after he tested positive for COVID-19, prompting his national team to pull out of upcoming events in Thailand, Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Sunday.
It has been a year since Momota sustained a career-threatening injury to his eye socket following a car accident on the way to Kuala Lumpur airport just hours after winning the Malaysia Masters last January.
Meanwhile, India s Lakshya Sen has also pulled out of the tournament due to a back strain that he sustained during training. The 19-year-old, who claimed five titles in the senior circuit in 2019 including two BWF World Tour Super 100 top honours, the SaarLorLux Open and the Dutch Open, has been advised rest by doctors after he suffered a back injury.