It has been reported that top shuttlers of India Saina Nehwal, P Kashyap and PV Sindhu have opted out of the VV Natu Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament which is supposed to be held from 17th July. The trio is reportedly busy preparing for next month’s World Championships.
The secretary of the five-day event Uday Sane informed that Saina, Sindhu and Kashyap are busy preparing for the World Championships scheduled to be held at Guangzhou in China from 5th August. Currently, they are practicing in Hyderabad and naturally they won’t accept any risks of injury. However, all other apex players have confirmed their participation.
In the absence of Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, the in-form Arundhati Pantawane, who proved impressive in the recent tournaments at the international stage, will certainly get top billing. Sayali Gokhale and Trupti Murgunde of Pune, PC Thulasi and Tanvi Lad are the other pinnacle shuttlers in the event.
World No. 61 Sai Praneeth B, who recently hauled a stunning straight-game win over World No. 4 Yun Hu of Hong Kong in the Singapore Super Series, will definitely get top seeding in the men’s category. He will be followed by K Srikanth--the new badminton sensation who won the single’s title in the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold in June.
Gurusaidutt RMV, Chetan Anand B, Anup Sridhar and senior national champion Sourabh Varma (2011) are the other competitors.
In the meantime, Mayank Gole, Sudhanshu Medsikar of Pune grabbed wild card entries in the singles’ main draw. Varun Khanwalkar and Sameer Bhagwat hauled wild card entries in the doubles’ section.
It cannot be ignored that some players have protested to this decision claiming that the wild card should have been awarded to some other upcoming players.
A parent who wished to stay anonymous insisted that as per his knowledge, Sameer Bhagwat and Varun Khanwalkar don’t play at the national level now. So, what is the point in awarding the wild card to them? Instead, it should have been given to an upcoming player. Sane replied that it is the decision of the organizing committee. They can give local players an opportunity to showcase their talent at the national level and it is followed everywhere in India.
