PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth prepare for Thailand Open in January 2021

After a tough year that saw the cancellation of most major badminton tournaments, the Indian badminton squad is ready to get back into action once again. Shuttlers PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth are geared up and will return to action at the Thailand Open in January 2021. This will be the first taste of competitive badminton since March for both women. Meanwhile, Former World No.1, Srikanth will be more in form, having just made his comeback at the Denmark Open in October this year. 

Also Read | PV Sindhu Working On 'strokes And Fitness' With British Players Ahead Of Scheduled Return

Badminton Association of India announces 8-member squad for 2021

With Olympic qualifications in mind, the Badminton Association of India announced a strong eight-member squad to participate in the upcoming tournaments in Bangkok. Other than Sindhu and Saina, B. Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Ashwini Ponappa and N. Sikki Reddy comprise the eight-member team for the Yonex Thailand Open from January 12-17. "We are very happy to see badminton finally getting back on the court. It gives us hope that tournaments can eventually make a steady comeback in near future. Most of our players haven't played tournaments in the last 7-8 months," BAI general secretary Ajay Singhania said. 

Also Read | BAI Names Full-strength Squad; Sindhu, Saina To Compete For First Time Since Virus Break

Olympic silver-medallist, PV Sindhu, will make her comeback to the BWF Circuit at the Yonex Thailand Open which is slated to be held from January 12 to 17. Sindhu's last tournament was the Yonex All England Open 2020 held in Birmingham. The 2019 World Champion lost her quarter-final match against Japan's N. Okuhara despite winning the first set with a commanding 21-12 margin. Sindhu has not been able to go past the quarter-finals at any of the three events she played in 2020 and will hope to change that before the Olympics next year. 

Olympic Bronze medallist and former World No.1, Saina Nehwal, will also be playing her first game in almost nine months as she travels to Thailand with the Indian contingent for the BWF World Tour Super 1000, Yonex Thailand Open in January. Of the five tournaments she has played in 2020, Nehwal's best performances came at the Malaysia and Spain Masters where she reached the quarter-finals. Her last outing, to England, ended with a dismal first-round loss to A. Yamaguchi of Japan.

Also Read | SAI Approves Sindhu's Request For Travelling Coach And Physio

BWF 2021 calendar

The first major tournament of 2021 will be the Yonex Thailand Open, held from January 12-17. This will be followed by the Toyota Thailand Open to be held from January 19 to 24 and will be topped off by the prestigious BWF World Tour Finals, which will be held from January 27-31. According to the latest announcement, the India Open 2021 will take place from May 11-16, 2021 and will be the last Olympic Qualifier ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

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Image Credits: AP