Badminton News: Reality check for Indian shuttlers at Thailand Open

Thailand Open is certainly not being what any of the Indian players participating might have expected. Poor performances, first-round exits and injuries are what hitting the Indian shuttlers the most. Few of the flabbergasting disappointments in the singles category came in form of Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu, who lost to Mia Blenchfeldt in the first round and HS Prannoy, who was shown the exit gate by Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia. Former world number 1 Saina Nehwal might be feeling on cloud 9 for varied reasons, first when she was cleared to play Thailand Open after her RT-PCR came positive but doctors told that she has antibodies in her body which means she will not affect anyone, and second when she cruised to the second round after outsmarting Kisona Salvaduray 21-15, 21-15 in the first round. Saina said in a post-match interview that it was a day full of stress for her as she did not get time to practise before the match. Barring few, all the other Indian shuttlers participating in the tournament has disappointed not just their own self but also BAI, who might be apprehensive over future Asian leg results now and marquee event, Tokyo Olympics 2021.