Badminton: Saina and Prannoy test positive for COVID-19
Ahead of the dual Thailand Open, Indian badminton players Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. As per reports, they tested positive in the third round of testing and have been quarantined in a Bangkok hospital. Both players are now set to miss the Yonex Thailand Open, starting Tuesday. Here are further details.
Besides Saina and Prannoy, Parupalli Kashyap has also been taken into quarantine and he will miss the tournament. He is set to be kept under observation. Notably, this was the first badminton tournament of the year, with the coronavirus pandemic destroying the badminton circuit in 2020. There wasn't any tournament held post-March 2020 amid the global pandemic.
This is not the first time Saina and her husband Kashyap have had to deal with COVID-19. Saina had recovered only a few weeks ago after testing positive. In an interview with News18.com, Kashyap had shared that both he and Saina had to stay in quarantine and couldn't practice for days because of coronavirus effects.
"We recovered from Covid-19 some 10 days back (said on December 27). We had about three days of symptoms and thereafter, we were normal. We got checked on the eighth day and I still tested positive, which was very frustrating. Saina tested negative but she had to stay away from the court as well because I was with her," Kashyap told News18.com.
The Yonex Thailand Open is set to be the eighth tournament of the 2020 BWF World Tour. The tournament which is sanctioned by the BWF is the first of the three tournaments to take place this month. Participation in both the Thailand Opens is mandatory to qualify for the 2020 BWF World Tour Finals. All these tournaments carry precious points for Tokyo Olympics qualification.
Thailand will be hosting three tournaments in successive weeks. The proceedings start with the Yonex Thailand Open (January 12-17). This will be followed by the Toyota Thailand Open and the BWF World Tour Finals.
