Saina Nehwal, a two-time Commonwealth Games winner, will not compete in the national badminton tryouts for the Asian Mixed Team Championships, which will take place in Dubai from February 14 to February 19.
Saina, a former world number one, was selected for the trials together with Aakarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod. The second women’s singles player who will join PV Sindhu, who has won two Olympic medals, on the roster for the Asian meet will be chosen by the senior selection committee.
However, Saina and Malvika have both decided to forego the trials.
“Saina and Malvika have let BAI know that they won’t be able to participate in the trials. Ashmita Chaliha has been invited to the trials as a result. There are a few further withdrawals, a source from the Badminton Association of India (BAI) told PTI.
There won’t be a fight because Aakarshi and Ashmita are both unavailable, along with Saina and Malvika.
Saina had a difficult 2022; she struggled with numerous injuries and a lack of form, which caused her to fall to the world number 31.
After returning from three weeks of European competitions, the 32-year-old skipped the 2022 Commonwealth Games selection trials to manage her workload.
Based on their higher world rankings, the selection committee has chosen to offer men’s doubles team Satwiksairaj Ranikreddy and Chirag Shetty, as well as singles players Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, and PV Sindhu, direct access into the squad.
The committee, which held a virtual meeting on December 25, opted to choose the remaining 14 members of the squad through tryouts, which have since been shortened to a single day due to a lack of participants.
Additionally, it is known that MR Arjun will not be able to compete in the trials due to an injury. As a result, the men’s doubles place will be decided by a match between Ishaan Bhatnagar and Sai Patheek K and Krishna Prasad Garga-Vishnuvardhan Goud P.
The victor will partner up with Satwik and Chirag.
Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy, a former bronze medalist team from the Commonwealth Games, will also be absent from the trials because they split up a few months ago.
In the women’s doubles competition, two berths are up for grabs, and the pair ranked 17th in the world, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, are the early favourites. Ashwini Bhatt and Shikha Gautam, Haritha Manazhiyil and Ashna Roy are the other two couples competing in the trials.
Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto, and the brand-new team of Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy will compete for one berth in the mixed doubles event.
The third iteration of the biennial competition will be called the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships. The COVID-19 epidemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 edition, which was set to take place in Wuhan, China.
India was eliminated from the tournament in 2017 after losing to Thailand 3–2 in the quarterfinals.
Related Posts
| Winter of discontent continues for India's shuttlers as Lakshya Sen relinquishes the title and Saina Nehwal is eliminated in a humiliating fashion. |
