Saina Nehwal pulls out of Indonesian open
Just a day before the Indonesian Open Super Series 500 event begins, Indian badminton superstars Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap have announced their absence from the event. This raised many eyebrows but Saina has cited reasons related to workload management whereas Kashyap has said that he is not in the pink of his health and still has some problems with his hamstring.
"I am fine now. But I need to get my fitness back. Hope to play a few of the next four events." said Kashyap when asked about his absence from the tournament. Clearing the air further on his spouse, India's first Olympic-medal winning shuttler Saina, Kashyap said "Saina withdrew because there are so many tournaments so she thought it is better if she plays next week and skips this one. She is fine". Not only Nehwal and Kashyap, but Prannoy also pulled out of the tournament. The shuttler who played an important role in India's Thomas Cup victory said, "I will skip this Indonesia event. I will play the next. I am in good shape. Looking forward to the next few weeks".
India's Thomas Cup exploits have made the Indian shuttlers favorites as they defeated 4-time champions Indonesia to win its first ever title. Along with Kashyap and Prannoy, shuttler Srikkanth has also withdrawn from the event citing workload-related issues.
With Saina Nehwal's absence, all the eyeballs are now set on PV Sindhu who is considered one of the favorites to reap results that goes India's way.
(Inputs from PTI)
