Sindhu withdraws from Thailand Open, Saina in

New Delhi: The Badminton Association of India on Tuesday confirmed that ace shuttler P.V. Sindhu has withdrawn from the Thailand Open while fellow Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal will take part in the Super 500 event.

This will be the first event for Saina after an injury lay-off which forced her to miss the Indonesia Open and Japan Open. Sindhu is one of several high profile athletes to withdraw from the tournament with Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi and Taiwanese world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying all pulling out. 

While the reason for her withdrawal has not been officially revealed, media reports indicate that she has her eyes set on the BWF World Championships that will be held from August 19 and 25. 

Sindhu has had a roller coaster fortnight in which she finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open and lost in the quarter-final of the Japan Open, losing to Yamaguchi on both occasions.