Bangkok, July 30: Top Indian shuttler P V Sindhu has withdrawn from the Thailand Open but compatriot Saina Nehwal will return to the circuit in the BWF Super 500 event in Bangkok after missing out back-to-back tournaments.
Sindhu, who reached the final in Indonesia Open but lost in the Japan Open quarterfinals last week, will not take the court in the Thailand Open main draw, which begins on Wednesday (July 31).
She had lost to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in both the previous tournaments. The reasons for her withdrawal from the event are not clear yet.
. #ThailandOpenSuper500 #pvsindhu has withdrawn from #Thailand as the main rounds take off from today. Let's wish the 🇮🇳 shuttlers all the best. #IndiaontheRise #badminton pic.twitter.com/ZXSJzRZ81K
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) July 30, 2019
Saina, seeded seventh, will open her women's singles campaign against a qualifier on Wednesday (July 31).
She was forced to withdraw from both the Indonesia and Japan Open on medical grounds.
Listen In Guys!🥁🔊 @NSaina will feature at the #ThailandOpenSuper500. So get ready to support the Champ!🏸💪#IndiaontheRise #badminton #sainanehwal pic.twitter.com/0liLeVZ8ii
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) July 29, 2019
On Tuesday (July 30), Sourabh Verma notched up back-to-back wins but compatriot Ajay Jayaram made an exit in the qualification round of the men's singles competition.
Sourabh beat Kantawat Leelavechabutr of Thailand 21-18 21-19, while Jayaram lost to Zhou Ze Qi of China 16-21 13-21 in the opening round matches of the qualifiers.
Sourabh later defeated Zhou 11-21, 21-14, 21-18 to secure a place in the main draw. Meanwhile, Sai Uttejitha Rao qualified for the main draw in the women's singles competition after a 16-21,21-14,21-19 comeback win over Canada's Brittney Tam.
. #Thailand Open Update!
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) July 30, 2019
🇮🇳’s @UttejithaR qualified for the main draw of the tournament after a comeback win over 🇨🇦’s Brittney Tam by 16-21,21-14,21-19.
Good start champ!
Keep the momentum going!#IndiaontheRise #Badminton pic.twitter.com/JT2Uw3hLIu
The likes of B Sai Pranneeth, Kidambi Srikanth, H S Prannoy, Shubhankar Dey and Parupalli Kashyap, in men's singles, are in the fray in the main draw of the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament.