Kidambi Srikanth begins practice at Gopichand Academy, shares training video on Twitter

Post the COVID-19 hiatus that lasted for over four months, Indian shuttlers hopeful for the Tokyo Olympics next year resumed their training. With Telangana government easing restrictions, SAI Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad started the national camp, inviting eight Olympic-hopeful badminton stars – PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth, N Sikki Reddy, Ashwini Ponnappa, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. As of now, Srikanth, Sindhu, Sikki and Praneeth have begun training at the national camp. 

Also read | PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth take mandatory COVID-19 tests administered by SAI

#PracticeBegins: Kidambi Srikanth shares a training video

"Let all your vibes say 'I got this!' #FridayFeeling #PracticeBegins," Kidambi Srikanth wrote along with his 11-second video. The video features Srikanth practising shots and slows down towards the end as he delivers a smash. This was the first video the former World No. 1 uploaded after the quarantine. The last training update the Indian shuttler gave was in July, where he shared a photo after learning a new workout. 

Also read | PV Sindhu, Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth return to Gopichand Academy post Sikki's COVID-19 scare

Following a stunning 2017, Srikanth was plagued with multiple injures. Last summer, his knee injury slowed down his game and also affected his Olympic qualification. With the COVID-19 lockdown, his recovery too faced a major setback. Srikanth added that it was tough as he had to push himself to get back to 100 per cent so he could play again. However, he kept injuring himself, which caused him to take numerous breaks. While he was slowly recovering, the pandemic happened. "I lost the whole of 2019 and also the whole of 2020. So this is a little disappointing but that's how it is and you can't really do anything about it," said Srikanth. The 27-year-old shuttler faced first-round exists in three BWF Tournaments – Malaysia, Indonesia and the Thailand Masters. 

Also read | Saina Nehwal yet to join national camp at Pullela Gopichand academy, upset over husband Parupalli Kashyap's exclusion

While he began training at the Pullela Gopichang Academy, N Sikki Reddy's COVID-19 scare closed down the camp for some days. However, Srikanth, Sindhu and Praneeth returned after Reddy's second test came back negative. As per the Sports Authority of India (SAI), all Olympic-hopeful athletes were tested for COVID-19. 

On the other hand, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy recently confirmed that he tested positive for COVID-19. Satwik is currently in his hometown in Amlapuram, Madhya Pradesh, and was planning to start training before his tests came back positive. Ponnappa is training in Banglore, while Shetty is still in Mumbai. Though Nehwal has started to train, she and husband Parupalli Kashyap are working out at a private facility. Though reports claimed that Nehwal would soon start training at the national camp, Nehwal is apparently training separately as she is unhappy with Kashyap's Olympic omission. 

Also read | BWF cancels four more events due to COVID-19 pandemic: BWF tournaments

(Image credits: Kidambi Srikanth Instagram)